Fish Out of Water
by Kittycatkyla
Summary: IzayaXHachimenroppi. Contains implication of: non-con, gore, and violence; childbirth. Reader's discretion advised. -The last thing Orihara Izaya expected to gain as payment for his services as an informant was a mermaid. But a mermaid he got and now, he can either keep it or he can go on a not so simple mission to reunite this creature with it's family.-
1. Chapter 1

"Hello, Orihara-san. Thank you for coming today." The man said as he held the door open for the raven. "Please, come in."

"Thank you." The black-haired man, wearing a black coat with tan fur trimmed around the edges of every opening, walked in with a thin smile. "You hold quite the demand, Mr. Nanasaki. I usually don't meet outside of the office."

"I know and I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, as I said in the email, my way of paying you for your information isn't something I can hand over without your input."

"Yes, I am aware."

Orihara Izaya had received an email from this man nearly a week ago. He had asked Izaya to give him any information regarding the nature of a rival corporation as well as any scandals that could be true about his family members. He made it very clear that he wanted this information so that he could boot his father and brothers from the positions they were and make it solely his company. Removing them would be easy, however, there may be people more qualified than him. Hence why he wanted information on the rival company. He wanted what they would need to stay afloat since it seemed like they were close to bankruptcy. If he managed to absorb the company into his and make it a prosperous entity without his own, the board of directors would have no choice by to praise him and reward him for his efforts.

Izaya, of course, pointed out this was a hefty demand and would need a hefty payment. And after a quick check of his bank accounts, Mr. Nanasaki wouldn't be able to pull that much out without his family noticing. So, he enticed Izaya with a gift instead of payment.

 **[I have a very rare specimen. A creature of legend, right in the palm of my hands. If you hold interest in the Black Rider of Ikebukuro, I can assure you, you'll have interest in this. If you would be so kind as to come to XXXX address in Chiyoda to see this specimen, I'm sure we can work something out.]** Was what the man had sent in his email.

Something on the same level of The Black Bike? The headless rider of Ikebukuro? The Valkyrie? The envoy of death? Izaya was indeed enticed. He was more than willing to see what this man was selling.

"So, let us get down to business." Izaya said, looking over his shoulder at Mr. Nanasaki. "This rare specimen."

"Yes, right this way, Orihara-san. Follow me."

Mr. Nanasaki walked past the raven and headed to a doorway on the other side of the living room. Izaya had both hands in his pockets. Both hands were firmly gripping flick blades just in case this was a ruse.

The man opened the door.

They entered a very empty and dark room. There was no furniture in this room. No appliances or electronics.

There was, however, a fish tank. A seven-foot-tall fish tank with a four-foot wide base. It was filled to the brim with water and the lid had a padlock on it to keep it shut.

What was in the fish tank made Izaya's eyes widen.

A man was it. He had pitch black hair and eyes that rivaled blood. His ears were pointed, with webbings along the crease to connect with his head. And he lacked legs. Instead, a completely black-scaled fish tail was there. Along what would be his thigh were small flippers with fins. And the tip of his tail was a fin so girthy, it looked no different than an umbrella.

"Quite the beauty, isn't it?" Mr. Nanasaki stated. "I got this from a fisherman in Puerto Rico. He was desperate to get rid of it. Told me this tale of finding it in hopes of making money off it. Instead, it ate his eldest son and mother. He said he couldn't kill it no matter how had he tried. Stabbing it and poisoning the water didn't work. And he couldn't just release it for it to doom some other unfortunate soul. So, he kept it locked in his chicken coop with a bucket of water. I offered to take it off his hands, paid a hefty price for it. And had it sedated and sent over here."

"How long have you had it?" Izaya walked up to the tank. He put his hand on the glass as he looked the creature up and down—looking for any breathing hose or rubber stitching.

The creature gave Izaya a side-long glanced. Then turned his back on him. That was all the creature could do as the tank was only just big enough to fit his body in. Even with seven feet, the poor things tail fin was bending against the floor of the tank unless he angled himself so it was in one of the corners.

"I've had it for going on 12 years now."

"12 years, really? Has it eaten anyone since?"

"Nope, I've been very cautious. Although, not so cautious enough sometimes."

Mr. Nanasaki rolled up his sleeves, displaying grotesque scars that were obviously bite marks.

"Hm. Might I ask why you haven't gone public with this thing?" Izaya circled the tank.

"I didn't want to be berated by paparazzi or PETA activists. Scientists and ichthyologist. It would be such a headache and eventually someone would try to take it away from me. So, I kept it to myself."

"And why are you willing to part with it as payment?" Izaya couldn't see any flaws with this creature. There were no hoses anywhere, no breathing apparatus's, and no disconnected lines. This thing was authentic.

"This is more important. This is my life goal, finally within my grasp. And I've become bored with this thing. It was fun at the beginning, having a fairytale creature in my very house. But it was such a hassle to keep it healthy, to feed it, to have my guard up every time I walked in the door. It's reactions when I play with it aren't even fun anymore."

"Why do you refer to it as it, out of curiosity. It looks like a male to me." Izaya pointed at the lack there of breasts.

"Oh, it's hermaphroditic."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it has a penis and a vagina. You can probably see them if it were to turn around. Here. Hey!"

Nanasaki beat on the glass. The creature put its hands to its ears. Izaya saw that each finger had webbing in between to connect them to the next digit.

"Turn around! Let our guess look at you properly."

The creature looked over its shoulder with a glare that sent a chill down Izaya's spine.

"Turn around!" Nanasaki banged on the tank again.

The creature let out an inhuman screech and lunged at the glass. Its hands slammed against the layer with a hard smack. Izaya refused to flinch. The creature bared its fangs at them, a layer of pointed teeth similar to sharks came from its gums to cascade over his normal, human teeth.

"See, there's three slits right in between where it's thighs would be." Nanasaki pointed.

Izaya looked but he couldn't see anything. The black scales didn't display any slits. "Ah, I see."

Izaya just decided to take his word for it.

 ** _'Should I be concerned by his definition of 'play with it'?'_** Izaya scrutinized the creature. He was looking for any bruising or scars.

The creature definitely had scars. Multiple scars that were very obvious against his porcelain flesh. There were strips of scales that were missing in replacement of scars, as well. However, they were not from human hands. They were bitemarks and claw marks from animals. Nothing from a knife. What's more, all its fins looked like they were rotting away. The edges were no longer rounded like they should be. There were long strips leading all the way down to the muscles were missing. It looked like some small fish had been haphazardly eating away at his fins.

"Well, Orihara-san. Is this creature adequate payment for what I need?"

Izaya glanced at him. Then looked back at the creature. "Yeah. I would think so."

Nanasaki grinned happily. "I'm glad. I shall make the proper arrangements to have it shipped to our address."

"Actually, not to my address." Izaya said and pulled out his phone. "Send it to this place."

* * *

A small-sized shipping truck reversed into a warehouse on the south side of Ikebukuro. There was a worker who was signaling for the truck to move back. Then he gestured to stop once the vehicle was completely in the warehouse. Within minutes, they had the truck door open and were in the process of strapping a seven-foot long by four-foot tall crate onto a cart.

"Be careful," one of the workers said. "It's fragile."

The workers responded with nods and okays.

Izaya stood to the sidelines, watching quietly.

The worker carted the crate out of the truck.

"Where would you like this?" One of the men asked the raven.

"The eagle's nest, please." Izaya pointed up to the office that overlooked the empty warehouse.

"Got it."

The men headed over to the stairs. With two people in the front and two people in the back, they went about pulling the cart up the steps. It was slow and the workers were giving their best effort to move the heavy item. But they did so without complaining. Within twenty minutes, the task was done.

The four men walked down the steps. They went back inside the truck and went about strapping down a second crate. This one was about nine feet long, six feet tall, and five feet wide. It would barely fit up the stairs—Izaya had measured it before making a purchase on that item.

The workers carted the crate out of the truck. Slowly, carefully, they pulled the huge item across the warehouse and up the stairs. Two in the front and two in the back again, they pushed and pulled the big package up the steps. In another twenty minutes, they returned.

And again, they headed to the truck to pull out the last giant item of Izaya's order. A square with that was five-by-five feet. They repeated the process of strapping it onto the cart, carefully pulling it out of the truck, carting it across the warehouse to the stairs, and straining to pull the heavy item up the steps to the office.

Two workers went into the truck. One picked up a two-by-two box and the other put a six-by-two box on a hand trolley. They left the truck and went up the stairs after the cart.

Another twenty minutes the workers came down, a few of them wiping their brows on their arms. Izaya walked over to the driver, who he knew was the manager. He pulled out several 10,000 (100 USD) bills and handed them to the man, giving his thanks. He then gave a 10,000 yen to each worker—two 10,000's to the four workers on the carts—and waved good-bye as the men got into their truck and drove off.

Izaya sighed now that he was finally alone. He walked over to the entrance and grabbed a chain. He pulled on it. The metal doors began to close shut, sliding across the concrete loudly. The doors shut with a metal clank.

The raven turned and headed to the stairs. He stopped and picked up a crowbar and a duffle bag that Izaya had placed by the steps before the workers had gotten there. He then ascended the stairs.

The three crates were put in the center of the room while the boxes were placed on the seven-by-four. The workers had left the hand trolley—as Izaya had asked for—by the biggest crate. Izaya went straight over to the seven-by-four and picked up one of the boxes. He moved one onto the ground. Then the other box. He shrugged off his duffle and tossed it towards the five-by-five tank.

Izaya knelt in front of the seven-by-four crate.

"Hey, this is going to get loud. So, cover your ears, okay?"

There was no response.

Izaya stood. He slammed the end of the crowbar into the seam of the crate. The tip barely disappeared into the wood. He pulled it out and slammed it back in. The tool went deeper, to the point Izaya could successfully push the crowbar up. The wood groaned, Izaya groaned too, as the raven pried the crate apart.

Izaya paused to catch his breath. He took off his coat and tossed it onto another crate. He went back to pulling. He groaned heavily as he pulled. His teeth clenched, his hands ached from the strain. The side finally separated from the crate. Izaya let out a call as the side suddenly gave away. The wood clattered to the ground loudly.

The mermaid, still in its seven-foot tall tank that was lying on its side, was visible. It had its hands over its ears like Izaya had asked it. Once light filtered into its tank, the creature opened its eyes. It took its hands away and looked over its shoulder at Izaya. Around its mouth with a leather strap in order to keep its mouth shut. Mr. Nanasaki had put it on before shipping it off for Izaya. He had also put a thing similar to a mouth guard in the creatures' mouth. It was metal and it latched around its teeth so the mermaid couldn't open its mouth. There was a lock on the front of it and Izaya had the key in his pocket.

"Keep your ears covered. I'm going to remove another wall."

The mermaid stared at him for a moment. Then did as asked and put its webbed hands over its pointed ears. Izaya smiled. He walked around the tank and gently pushed the crowbar in between the tank and the wood. It didn't take nearly as much effort to wedge this side off. It was still a strain, and the nails groaned to being pulled, but Izaya didn't have to exert himself nearly as hard as the first side had.

The wood fell to the ground with a single, loud thud.

Izaya exhaled. "Okay."

He put the crowbar on the ground and knelt down.

"Hey," Izaya put his hand on the tank.

The creature removed its hands from its ears.

"That crate," Izaya pointed to the biggest crate, "Has your new tank in it. You should have much more room than this. And that," he pointed to the box, "Is a cylinder filled with salt-water. I doubt Mr. Nanasaki changed your water often, from the state of your fins."

Izaya pointed at the erosion around the tip of each of its fins. The mermaid looked down at itself then back up at Izaya.

"I've got plans for you. However, in order to enact those plans, I need your cooperation."

The creature said nothing. Izaya wasn't sure if it could talk but even if it could, the locked mouth guard kept him from trying. Instead, Izaya heard a low hissing coming from the creature.

Izaya sighed and stood. "Alright, you just stay there and don't do anything suspicious. I wouldn't want to electrocute you."

Izaya held up a small remote. Nanasaki had told him that the mouth guard had small tasers in it, that will shock the creature through its teeth. It wouldn't kill the mermaid, that was sitting in water. Nanasaki didn't know how, but he assumed it was because the creature had the characteristics of an eel. So, a shock wouldn't kill it, but it would hurt it immensely as the teeth were far more sensitive than other parts of the body.

The creature hissed at Izaya again. But it did nothing. Instead, it rolled over and turned its back on the raven.

Izaya chuckled. He tossed the remote onto his coat so as not to accidently press it in his tight pants and turned to the other crates.

The raven sighed before going to work on the task he had set for himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Izaya groaned as he lied on the cold concrete floor. Izaya had never been a fan of manual labor. He particularly loathed having to do such demanding acts of physical exertion. Running away from Shizuo was about the only form of exercise he really wanted or needed to do. Tearing open crates for nearly an hour and a half was not something he would like to ever do again.

But on the plus side the task was done. The tank and the salt-water container were out in the open. Now he needed to move the five-foot tall cylinder to the side of the tank. But he'd give himself a break. He was hungry and in need of some sustenance.

"Hey, fish-kun." Izaya said. "Would you like some ootoro?"

Izaya glanced over at the mermaid. The creature still had its back to him. And it made no move to acknowledge him.

"I know you've probably only eaten whole fish and man. But your top half is human so I can assume you'd like some human foods. Like rice and salt."

The creature didn't response. Izaya sat up. He stood, dusted himself off, and walked over to this coat. He sat back down on the ground and pulled out his phone from his coat pocket. He dialed a number. It began to ring so he put it to his ear.

"Hello, Simon, how's your evening so far?"

The creature glanced over its shoulder at him. Izaya pretended not to notice.

* * *

"Hey, I got you something to eat." Izaya said as he walked up the stairs.

There was no response, as expected. Izaya walked over to the horizontal tank. The creature was still there but it had rolled over so it was facing the exposed side of its tank. Izaya sat down.

"I've got ootoro sashimi and nigiri. I didn't know if you would like maki—I don't particularly like it so I didn't get any."

The creature narrowed its eyes at him but made no threatening noises.

"So, I have a glass cutter." He pointed to one of the cardboard boxes. "I'm not strong enough to tip you tank upright. Besides, Nanasaki welded the lid so that your tank could be tilted sideways without leaking all over, so I wouldn't be able to open it again anyway. In order to feed you, I'm going to have to cut the glass away."

Izaya looked back at the creature. The red eye monster locked eyes with Izaya.

"The water reservoir is on the other side of town. 2.2 kilometers away from here. You'd have quite a hard time dragging your way over there and Nanasaki let me know how you sprout legs."

The creatures' eyes narrowed.

"I have made sure that we are nowhere close to a pharmacy and I have none of what you need to become human on me. If you kill me and try to escape, you will be seen and either recaptured or killed. Or even worse, come across someone who would love to experiment on you. Nebula is a corporation that has been known to run 'tests' on things like you and their main building is on the way."

The creature hissed. Izaya smiled.

"You may not trust me, but right now, I'm the lesser of two evils. I'm not going to experiment on you nor do I intend to abuse you. But I don't intend to take you to the ocean just yet. Right now, my intentions for you are pure. I want to research, observe, and document. Once I'm content, I'll return you to the wild. Maybe."

The creature snorted.

Izaya chuckled. "I'm glad you actually have a personality. It would be very disappointing if you were a creature controlled by basic instinct."

The creature rolled its eyes and turned its back on him.

"I'm going to take a leap of faith with you, which is something I don't normally do—especially with monsters."

Izaya stood and went over to the two-by-two cardboard box. He opened it. Inside was the glass cutter and the water filter for the tank. He grabbed the glass cutter and went back to the tank.

"This is going to be loud so cover your ears. Also, stay away from the blade. There's no off switch if I cut you."

The creature stared at him for a moment. Then backed away into the corner of the tank as far away from the top glass as it could. It then covered its ears.

Izaya turned the machine on. It buzzed softly in his hand. He grabbed it by the handle and the grip that was fastened to the blade. With a firm grip, Izaya pressed the spinning blade to the glass a quarter of the way down the length of the tank. There was barely any noise on Izaya's end of the spectrum. However, he was certain it was probably unbearably loud under the water. So Izaya was trying to make it quick while trying to make it efficient.

The cutter was across the glass in minutes. Izaya stood and turned so that he could cut along the seam of the tank now. The mermaid pushed himself off that wall so that it was on the other side and not under the blade. Izaya took note but said nothing. He finished cutting along the seam until he reached the top. He turned again, following the seam, and continued to cut. The mermaid moved down so it wasn't over its head. Izaya reached the end and turned again. Still following the seam, Izaya went down the tank back to where he originally started.

The task was done. The glass square he had cut fell into the tank. The mermaid reacted before Izaya could turn off the blade. It reached its hands up and pushed the glass so that it was still above the water. It then openly cringed as its ears more-than-likely rang. Izaya finally turned the blade off and put the cutter down.

"Push it up."

The mermaid did as told before Izaya even finished his statement. There was no doubt in Izaya's mind that the creature couldn't hear him so it was just doing what it wanted. And it didn't want to hold the palette of glass up. The mermaid pushed the glass up above the tank and slid it on the glass that wasn't cut.

The creature then sat up. Its top half was completely out of the water. Its hair dripped heavily, water cascading off the monster. Izaya could see its gills pulsing as it tried to breath.

"Are you okay?" Izaya asked. "Can you hear me?"

The mermaid glanced at him. Its red eyes were narrowed into a glare.

"If it's any consolation, I didn't mean to do that. You reacted faster than I could turn the cutter off."

The mermaid snorted and rolled its eyes before turning away from him.

Izaya chuckled. Then stood. He picked up the glass cutter and walked over to the cardboard box. He put the tool back in the box. He turned and next went to his coat. He fished through his pockets and pulled out the key to the human muzzle.

"Okay, so here's the leap of faith."

The mermaid did nothing. It just stared. Izaya walked over. He knelt down by the tank.

Izaya really did not think this was a good idea. But at the same time, he wanted this creature to trust him so trust was going to have to be given first. He didn't like that but that was a basic instinct and right now this creature was going to defend itself off basic instinct.

"If you would, move your hair, please." Izaya smiled at the mermaid.

The creature didn't move at first. It merely stared. Then it did as asked and gathered its hair out if its face. It clumped the locks together and pulled it to the side so it all sat over one shoulder. It glanced at Izaya before turning to face him completely.

Izaya put his hand on the creature's chin in order to hold it still. He lifted the key to the lock. It wasn't a big key nor was it a deep lock. He turned the lock and it clicked immediately. The mouth guard separated in between its top and bottom teeth. Izaya reached in and pulled the top off then the bottom. The creature opened its mouth wide so Izaya could pull it out. Which he did.

As soon as the guard was out of the warm passage, the cold air triggered a reaction that Izaya was not aware would happen. A burst of gas came out of the edges of the mouth guard, pointed straight at the creatures' face. It sprayed right up its nose. The mermaid cringed and backed away. Izaya dropped the mouth guard out of reflex as it surprised him. The creature immediately started gagging. It turned away from Izaya and started coughing and retching.

The creature puked into the water. It retched and another batch of what looked like stomach acid came up.

"Are you okay?" Izaya reached forward out of reflex to move its hair out of its face.

The creature seemed to also react on reflex as it turned its head and bit Izaya's hand. Izaya screamed as it felt like his index and middle finger were being torn to shreds. He grabbed the creatures head with his free hand and tried to pull his hand free. That only made it feel worse. His hand started to go numb within the creatures' mouth as he screamed in agony.

The mermaid let go. Izaya pulled his hand away, his digits gushing blood. His immediate response was the rush to his coat and wrap his hand in some clean fabric. His hand was shaking badly as he used his free hand to hold his injury close to his body. He grabbed his coat and put his hand on the inside. Making sure no fur from his trimming got into his injury, he put his hand in the center on his coat and wrapped it tight.

Izaya was panting heavily. His whole body was shaking badly. His middle finger was absolutely screaming in pain while his index had gone numb. All he could feel was heat radiating off that digit.

"Ah, shit."

 ** _'I'm bleeding bad. Think rationally. Rationally. I need to...I need to call Shinra. Need to—'_**

Izaya heard loud splashing followed by something wet and heavy hitting the concrete. The raven looked over his shoulder. The mermaid had pulled itself out of the tank and was holding itself up on its arms. It had its eyes trained on Izaya. Blood coated its bottom jaw, its mouth open to display its shark-like teeth had come down. No doubt that was what tore Izaya's fingers to shred.

Fear trailed up Izaya's spine. The look in that creatures' eyes. It was almost like an animal looking at prey. Its eyes were dilated, it was panting heavily, its gills were flaring. Izaya had to do something. If he didn't, he'd be killed by a monster in a warehouse that no one knew he was at.

Izaya turned as fast as he could and reached into his coat pocket. He grabbed a flick blade, pulled it out, and flicked it open. He swung his arm out and threw the blade without hesitation.

His aim was off. He knew it was due to the pain. The blade flew right past the creatures' face. But he didn't care. It made the creature drop to the floor in a dodge and that was all Izaya needed. He grabbed his coat and pushed himself to his feet. He ran towards the door.

The mermaid was suddenly by Izaya's side.

 ** _'How is it that fast—'_**

It swung its giant tail and slammed it into Izaya's ankles. The raven called out in surprise as he fell forward. The mermaid rushed so that it was underneath Izaya. It caught the informant so he didn't slam against the concrete and held him tight.

Izaya shoved his coat into the creatures' face. He heard the mermaid give a muffled groan as the clothe was shoved in its mouth. Izaya had to use his injured hand to lean on. It screamed in protest but he had to get away so he raised himself up and tried to break the creatures grip. The mermaid tightened its grip. Izaya's shoulder blades groaned in pain. He called out.

 ** _'Strong...He's as strong as Shizu—'_**

The mermaid flipped them so that he lied on top of Izaya. It grabbed Izaya's wrist that was holding his coat to its face and pinned it down above Izaya's head. Now the coat lied over Izaya's face. The creature then grabbed Izaya's injured hand.

 ** _'I'm going to die!'_**

The creature pulled his bleeding hand up.

 ** _'Shit.'_**

Izaya felt its tongue touch his injury.

 ** _'Shit!'_**

"NO!"

"Shut up, I'm not eating you. You'd probably taste like shit."

Izaya's eyes widened. "Wh—you can speak?!"

"Of course, I can, you fucking dumbass."

Izaya's pinned wrist was released. The raven pulled the coat off his face to stare at the mermaid. The creature held Izaya's injury to its mouth and was licking the blood. The raven cringed.

"Don't be a pussy."

Izaya glared at the creature.

The creature chuckled then put its mouth back on the injury.

"Nngh!"

The creature rolled its eyes but didn't bother berating him. It sucked on the injury, lathering the wound with its saliva.

"Ow!" Izaya felt something stab into the injury on his middle finger.

Izaya tried to pull away but the creature wouldn't let him. The raven reached up with his other hand and pulled on the creature's hair. That proved ineffective and the informant knew there was nothing that he could do. So, he just let his hand rest on its shoulder, holding the clump of hair without pulling.

Almost as soon as the stab happened, Izaya's entire finger began to go numb.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"He'pen'." The creature said around the injury.

The fish monster pulled its mouth off. There was a slight foam around the edge of Izaya's injury. It was originally white but it turned pink with Izaya's blood. The creature lifted Izaya's index finger. It put its mouth over that.

"Why is my...it's gone numb."

The creature took its mouth off. It gave Izaya an open glare. "You guys call it reef snake venom. It's a low concentration of it. Low enough that it'll only cause paralysis in your hand. You won't feel pain and it won't swell. The white stuff is sea foam. It'll keep you from bleeding out. You should go to a doctor and get detoxed but this'll make sure that you don't bleed out before you get there."

"...Okay."

"Any more questions or can I save your fucking life already?"

Izaya glared. "You're the one who put my life in danger to begin with!"

"You brought that on yourself. Don't fucking touch me."

The creature dipped its head down and put its mouth over the injury on Izaya's middle finger.

"I was just trying to—ow!" Izaya clenched his teeth. "Gnngh!"

The creature chuckled. It didn't take its mouth off, however. It continued to lick and clean the blood off. It rubbed its tongue up and down the wound.

It took its mouth off finally. Sea foam caked the gash, the white turning pink. Izaya looked at his wound.

"You should go to a hospital." The creature got off of Izaya and pulled himself across the floor towards the tank with puke-filtered water. "You basically got bitten by a small shark."

"What ar—you shouldn't go back in that tank. The water's filthy."

"I don't have much of a choice. You don't have hydro's and I'll dry out otherwise."

"W-well, here, the cylinder has salt-water." Izaya sat up. "You can sit in there."

"Worry about yourself."

"T-that...uh..."

Izaya slumped.

The creature looked back at him. He cocked a brow. "You okay?"

"I…feel weak."

The creature's eyes widened. "Is there a metallic taste on your tongue?"

"K-kind of."

"Oh—shit!"

"Wh-what?"

"I must have injected you a bit when I bit you."

"Wh-what's that mean for me?"

"You have less time than I thought for you to get to a hospital." The creature dragged himself back over. "You should call an ambulance. Now."

Izaya looked at him. He turned to his coat and fished into his pocket. He struggled for a moment but managed to grab his phone. He opened it and went to his call log. He lied on his side before pressing the phone to his ear.

The phone rang.

 _"Hello, Izaya."_

"Hey, Shinra, do you have...detox for coral reef snake venom?"

 _"Deto—how did you get bit by a coral reef snake?"_

"Was at a zoo and was being reckless with the animals. That's not really important right now though."

 _"When were you bit?"_

"'bout, five minutes ago. The spots completely numb but I'm...my body feels weak already."

 _"That's what the venom does. You won't die for a couple of hours but the effects are nearly immediate."_

"Figured."

 _"Where are you?"_

"I'm at uh, a warehouse in Ikebukuro. Unit #138-420 on XXX and OOO Street."

 _"Okay. I'll be there within thirty minutes. Stay warm and don't move. The less blood circulation the better."_

"Okay."

Shinra hung up.

"Not to be a barer of bad news," The creature said, "but you're lying on cold concrete, your clothes are all we and your jacket is covered in blood. Staying warm doesn't seem like an option right now."

Izaya chuckled. "I brought blankets and…towels. In, in that duffle bag."

The creature looked over at where Izaya pointed to. He cocked a brow. "Did you intend to sleep here?"

"No. I planned to soak those-those blankets in water for you to lie on till I could move you to the next…the next tank. Since that tank you were in…has dirty water and is...real small."

The creature didn't respond. It looked at the duffle. A low growl came from its throat.

Then it dragged itself over to the duffle. It grabbed the straps and pulled it over to Izaya. Izaya watched the creature quietly. The mermaid unzipped the bag and pulled out a blanket. It spread the fabric out on the floor by Izaya.

"Take off your clothes." The creature said.

"I'd rather not."

"I'm not going to eat you. Your clothes are wet."

"Yes, but I'd rather not have my friend see me in my underwear."

"Your dignity is not more important than your life."

"That's a matter of opinion."

The creature narrowed its eyes at him.

Then it leaned down and grabbed Izaya's shirt by the chest. It pulled. And the cloth ripped like a plastic bag.

"Eh?" Izaya's eyes went wide. "Wait! Don't destroy my clothes! You're horrible!"

Izaya tried to push the creature away but it did absolutely nothing for him. The creature didn't budge at all. Izaya's chest was completely exposed, his sleeves the only part of his shirt still on him. If he were to sit up, the back of his shirt would not go with him.

"Stop it!" Izaya yelled. He punched the creatures collar bone.

To no surprise, that did nothing.

"I have no patience for a human who lacks basic survival instincts. If you want your pride to speak louder than your life than I might as well make a meal out of you before you kick the bucket."

"Get…off me!" Izaya growled as he shoved his hand against the creature's chin.

The creature grabbed his hand and pinned it.

"Agh!" Izaya cringed.

"Wet clothes off." The creature hissed. "Or I'll take them off for you."

"Fin-Fine! Get off me!"

The creature rolled over off of Izaya. The raven glowered at his inhuman companion. His inhuman companion returned the glower without hesitation. Izaya grumbled before grabbing his wet jeans. He undid them and with a bit of struggle managed to get them down his thighs. Izaya flicked off his shoes. His socks and underwear weren't wet, which made Izaya very happy. At least he wouldn't have to completely strip.

 ** _'I'm starting to regret buying this monster. He reminds me of Shizu-chan. Brutish and doesn't respond to reason.'_**

He pulled his pants off his feet and tossed them to the side. He sat up and grabbed the tattered remains of his shirt. He tossed those on his pants and rolled over onto the blanket.

"You bastard, tearing my clothes." Izaya grumbled.

The raven lied down on his side.

"Honestly, I expect too much from monsters, don't I? I think that because they understand humans just a little bit that they'd have some form of tact."

"That's your first mistake." The creature said. It was holding a towel and drying itself off.

"Why are you doing that? You need to stay wet, don't you?"

"Just my gills need to be wet. The rest of my body is fine."

Izaya looked at him. Then glanced at his tattered clothes. He rolled over and grabbed a strip of his broken shirt.

"Here," Izaya held it out to him. "Get this wet and wrap it around your neck."

"I don't need you to tell me that."

Izaya glowered. "Fine."

Izaya tossed the cloth to the mermaid and lied back down.

The mermaid muttered something.

"What?" Izaya looked over his shoulder. "What'd you say?"

"Nothing."

Izaya glowered again. He rolled back over.

 ** _'The numbness has gone up my arm. I can't feel my wrist.'_**

Izaya glowered at his hand that had no sensation in it. He sighed heavily.

"This is the worse."

"It's not as bad as it could be." The mermaid's voice came from farther away.

Not long after, Izaya heard the hiss of the seawater canister opening. He then heard a small splash of water. Izaya looked over his shoulder to see the mermaid had dipped his cloth into the salt water. It rung the strip of shirt out with lackluster then flipped its hair forward. It wrapped the cloth around its neck, tying the material around the front.

The mermaid looked over its shoulder at Izaya before dragging itself over.

"Are you cold?" the creature asked.

"I'm fine." Izaya lied.

"Don't be brave. There's no need for that."

"I'm not being brave."

"Then don't be prideful."

"Isn't that a little hypocritical? You've been speaking nothing but prideful statements."

"I'm allowed to be prideful. I'm not dying."

"And who's fault is that?"

"Your own for trying to touch me when I was vulnerable. You wouldn't touch a dog that was stung by a bee, would you?"

"Most dogs are actually trained."

"And I'm a wild animal. Don't fuck with me."

Izaya chuckled. "So, you're okay with referring to yourself as an animal."

"Regardless if I'm okay with it, you fucks will call me as such anyway."

"I find it very rude that you would lump me in with people like Nanasaki."

"Do I have a reason not to?"

Izaya chuckled and let himself go limp on the blanket. "If I live through this, I'll just have to prove it to you."

"I doubt you will."

The mermaid threw a blanket over Izaya. The raven jolted as he was blinded by fabric. He reached up and pulled the blanket off. He looked over his shoulder to see the mermaid had lied down a towel on the blanket and was lying down on it so that its dripping neck rag was over the towel. The creature grabbed the duffle bag and pulled it over.

"Lift your head."

Izaya cocked a brow but obeyed.

The mermaid put the duffle under Izaya's head. The raven now had a pillow. Izaya sighed as he relaxed.

But then he stiffened as the creature pressed itself again his back.

"I'm not going to eat you." the creature grumbled. "Relax."

Izaya let out a dry chuckle. "I find it funny that that's how you comfort me."

"Would you rather I say something different?"

"No, that's fine enough."

The monster put his arm over Izaya.

"If you fall asleep, you'll be fine." The creature said. "You'll have less circulation so you'll live longer."

"I'd rather stay awake. I need to go downstairs when Shinra gets here so he doesn't see you."

The creature chuckled. "Less he freak out over a monster."

"No, more like he'll want to experiment on you."

The creature didn't respond.

Izaya chuckled. "He's always been a bit of freak. Instead of...being awe-stricken by something new, he'd rather know how it functions and…what makes it tick."

"Great."

"He's not a bad man. But he's not a good man. He's very annoying...honestly."

Izaya's eyelids began to get heavy.

"Is he a friend of yours?" the creature asked.

"…Yeah, I'd say…so.

The creature chuckled. "You're falling asleep."

"No…I'm not."

"It's fine. I'll wake you before he gets here."

"I'm fine."

"Just go to sleep, you fucking pleb."

Izaya held back a laugh. "A pleb? Why am I a…" Izaya yawned.

"Ye fuckin' wat, mate?" The creature used a thick British accent.

Izaya chuckled. But it was short-lived as he had no more energy to keep his eyes opened.

The creature chuckled. "You wasted all your efforts on opening crates and freaking out on me."

"I…thought you were…going to kill me."

"Rightfully so."

Izaya groaned.

The raven's head was getting fuzzy. He was barely able to hear the creature talk to him and he could barely figure out what he was saying. Izaya knew he couldn't stay awake much longer.

"Hey," Izaya muttered. "What's your name?"

"Name?"

"In case I die, I'd like to know the name…of the person who killed me."

The creature was silent for a moment. Then Izaya felt him lean forward. His lips touched the raven's ear.

"Hachimenroppi."

"Hachi…that's…very Japanese for…a creature from Puerto…Rico."

Izaya's world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Izaya groaned as he opened his eyes. He stared up at a ceiling. A residential ceiling. Not the ceiling of a warehouse.

He was also aware that he was on a soft bed rather than the hard floor. The pillow under his head had more padding and his back was cushioned without any firmness against his body. A blanket lied over him. It wasn't the same one that had been lying over him previously. This one was thicker and silkier than the one he had over him earlier.

Izaya was even more so aware that someone was sitting on the edge of his bed. He looked over.

Shinra was hanging up an IV-Drip on a rack. Izaya saw the drip was connected to his arm, along with another needle connected to a smaller bag that was already hanging.

"Why'd you move me from the warehouse?"

Shinra looked over his shoulder at him. "Oh, you're awake."

"Are we at your place?"

"Yeah. I gave you some antivenin, but you need to be monitored for the next five days. You're under house arrest until I know you're in the safe zone."

"House are—eh, wait?" Izaya sat up. "You expect me to stay here for five days?"

"Yup. Less you die on me—unless you'd rather I take you to the hospital."

Izaya groaned. "No, I'd rather you not."

"Then you're going to have to stay here."

Izaya grumbled as he lied back down. He took note that he was in a pair of black pajamas—most-likely Shinra's, which made him glower at the wall in irritancy.

"By the way, I'm not sure what your friend is suffering from but I'd suggest getting a consult with an ichthyologist."

Izaya eyes widened. He sat upright.

"Oi, don't move around too much." Shinra commanded. "The less you move, the better."

"You saw him?"

"Who? The mermaid?"

Izaya glowered. "He said he'd wake me so you wouldn't see him."

"Well, it was a good thing he didn't. I'd have a lot of questions how a shark bite poisoned you with coral reef snake venom."

"What'd you do with him?"

"I didn't do anything." Shinra glowered at him. "I'm valuing our friendship like you asked!"

"Hah?"

"The mermaid. It told me that if I tried to experiment on it, you'd renounce our friendship. And Celty would be upset if I lost a friend because I was selfish. Although, since it's you, I doubt she would mind, honestly. It's no secret that Celty doesn't like you so if I stop being your friend, I'm sure Celty will actually love me more!"

"I see what you meant by him being annoying." Another voice said. "He's been asking me questions non-fucking-stop. I didn't think a doctor would be able to multitask to the level he has."

Izaya looked over to see his creature. It was sitting in a large plastic tub usually used for storage purposes. It had its arms resting on the edge, no different than one would in a bath, with its tail hooking over the plastic rim. Izaya knew the creature had a very long tail and it showed here. Most of its tail was out of the tub, to the point where its eroding fin was fully resting against the hardwood floor.

"You didn't tell me you knew a Dullahan." The mermaid said, "Although I could have guessed since you kept saying 'monsters', as in plural."

"Where did you even find someone like him, Izaya?!" Shinra asked. "He's absolutely amazing! He doesn't need only salt water, even though he's a creature of the ocean. He said any type of water is fine! I want to know how his body is able to use any form of water as sustenance when no fish in the world can do that! And what he used to poison you with! I'm assuming he bit you but when I look at him, he only has normal human teeth. None of them are puncturing fangs—"

"Shinra, I just woke up." Izaya interrupted. "Your voice is too loud, it's giving me a headache."

"But this is new discovery! There's so much I want to know! How did you even find him?!"

"He was a gift from a customer."

"Where'd he get him from?"

Izaya lied back down. "A fisherman in Puerto Rico."

"Where'd _he_ get him from?"

"I don't know. Probably the ocean." Izaya rolled over so his back was to Shinra. "If you don't mind going away so I can sleep?"

"But—"

"Let him rest, glasses." The mermaid said. "You and I can talk later, kay?"

Shinra pouted and he made an audible noise so Izaya would know to.

"Is Black Bike-san here?" Izaya asked.

"No, she was called for a job. She'll be back in an hour. You know, Celty didn't want to leave us alone with the mermaid. She told me that your friend will most-likely eat us."

"I don't eat junk food, is what I told her." The mermaid said. "That seemed to be enough to convince her."

"No, no, she was called by Shiki-no-dono."

"Ah, she best not keep him waiting, then." Izaya mused.

Shinra chuckled and stood. "I'm going to come check on you in an hour. I kinda hope he'll start eating you so I can see how fast he can do it."

"Yes, yes." Izaya waved Shinra good-bye.

The underground doctor left the room.

"He's got to be the most annoying person I've ever met." The mermaid said.

"His father's worse."

"Ugh."

Izaya propped himself up on his arm. "He didn't do anything, did he?"

"He wanted to take a blood sample, at least. Said it was for medical because I looked unhealthy. Told him to fuck off."

"You should have let him if it was for medical. I was planning to get your diagnosis anyway."

"I don't like needles."

"You don't have much of a choice in—"

"I ain't your fucking pet. If you try to treat me as such I'll fucking eat you."

"That is the last thing I would like to do." Izaya sat up. "However, I am going to spend a small fortune on you. I'd like to make sure you don't die before it's all done."

"What are you going to do?" The creature cocked a brow.

Izaya chuckled. "Why do you think I took you to a warehouse? You seem to know quite a lot about human society so I'm sure you can figure buying a warehouse isn't cheap. Or the 500 pounds of salt water?"

"Well, it's definitely not cheap, I know that."

"And I'm only going to spend more. There's a lot of open space downstairs. Can you imagine the size of the fish tank that would be?"

The creatures' eyes widened. "You serious? That's fucking—"

"It's why I'd like to make sure you don't die beforehand. So, first step is to get you to a medical professional so that I can fix you. I've never had fish before so I don't know the first thing about how to heal you up."

The creature glowered. But Izaya could see a slight blush on his cheeks as he sunk lower into the tub. Izaya found that response interesting.

 ** _'Heh, so he can be bashful. That's a very human response to go from an abusive relationship to one where you're spoiled.'_**

"So, before we leave here, I'm going to have Shinra look you over and do some blood tests."

"No." the creature said.

Izaya cocked a brow. "Hachimenroppi-san, it's no secret that you are ill. You're extremely thin— borderline anorexic—your fins are splitting, and I am more than certain you have internal problems. Your tank water was dirty before you vomited in it. I may not know much about fish but I know enough that dirty water causes internal problems."

"…You're not wrong. But I don't want to."

"Hachi—"

"Give me seven days. I'm not so weak that I'll die anytime soon."

"Why seven days?"

"None of your business."

Izaya's eyes narrowed.

"Leap of faith with me, Izaya."

The raven's eyes widened. "You know my name?"

"Orihara Izaya. Nanasaki called you Orihara-san and that doctor called you Izaya so I can only assume that's your name."

Izaya didn't respond. **_'He's more observant than I thought he was. I don't like that.'_**

"By the way, you haven't eaten yesterday, due to our little mishap. You should ask that friend to make you something."

"I'll be fine. I've got an IV-drip."

The creature didn't respond.

"Are you hungry, Hachimenroppi-san?"

"Just call me Roppi. I know my name's a mouthful."

"Eh? Why not Hachi-san? I would assume Hachimen is your family name."

"It's not. Hachimenroppi is one word."

"Oh?"

"I don't like being called Hachi. That's a dog's name. And Hachimen just sounds weird. Sounds like 'eight men' and I'd rather not have people make bukkake jokes at me."

"Eh, do you know English, Hachi-san?"

The mermaid glowered then rolled his eyes. He lowered himself so he was under the water.

"Are you sulking, Hachi-san?"

There was no response.

"Eh, Hachi-san, don't ignore me. That's very rude."

"What's rude is calling me by a name I deliberately told you I didn't like. So, fuck off."

A small splash sounded, letting Izaya know he resubmerged.

"So, even under the water you can hear me? Can you hear the vibrations and are just converging them or can you actually hear me?"

No response.

"You're a very stubborn person, aren't you, Roppi-san?"

"Extremely. But that's not why I wasn't talking to you."

"Was it because I was being rude?"

"You were being disrespectful. Rude is something I'm willing to deal with. I'm an asshole and I know it so rude is deserving of rude. But I'm not going to be a cunt, unlike you."

Izaya's brow twitched. "There's only about a few centimeter's difference between the two."

Roppi was silent for a moment then Izaya heard him hold back a laugh. "Touché. Iza-chan."

Izaya's eyes narrowed. He chuckled. "Well, Roppi-chan, would you like something to eat?"

"Depends, Iza-chan, what do you have?"

"I can order some ootoro? Or would you like something other than fish?"

"What's cheaper?"

"Don't worry about the price. Order what you want."

"…Fish is fine. Eating something off a plate is a hassle in this form."

Izaya sat up. "I doubt Nanasaki has fed you anything other than fish so are you _for certain_ you want fish?"

The mermaid was silent. He grumbled for a moment. "Honestly, I'm sick of raw fish."

"Then what would you like?"

"I like pasta's."

"Really? Nanasaki gave you pasta?"

"No, I've had pasta before I met that fuck."

"Oh? How did you come across that? Did a shipment of pasta get dropped in the ocean?"

"No, smartass. I was in Oregon and went to a restaurant."

"Oregon?"

"Yeah. I convinced an old lady to give my some of her hydrocodone. I ended up living with her for about four years before she died of cancer. Her son wasn't a bad man but the grief over his mother made him less than desirable. He started drinking heavily, ended up getting a divorce, and lost his house. His mother left everything to him so the house I was caretaking for her went to him. He let me stay for a while but he didn't like me bringing up his problems. I have little patience for self-destructive people so eventually, I apologized to the old lady's grave and left."

"Why apologize?"

"I promised I'd help her son stay together. Keep him on his feet and make sure her death didn't destroy him. I really did try, even offered to take him with me because he couldn't get to alcohol if he lived with me. But he basically told me to fuck off. So, I left."

"She gave everything to the son even though you were the one who looked after her?"

"Well, it's not like her worldly possessions meant much to something live me. Money has little value once it's wet. She…did give me one thing, though."

"What was it?"

"A necklace. It was made of bronze so it wouldn't corrode in saltwater. It was apparently something that was passed down from daughter to daughter in her family. She had a daughter who she had given it to but she died in a car crash before the old lady met me so she took the necklace back. I was the closest thing to a daughter she was going to get so she gave it to me."

"'Closest thing to a daughter'. Does that mean when you take on a human form, you have the lower half of a woman?"

"You already know the answer to that. Nanasaki told you as much."

Izaya took pause. "Did Nanasaki take that necklace from you?"

"No. The fisherman did. He did a couple of other things but that was the worse."

"Is that why you ate his mother and eldest son?"

"…Again, it was a few different things that built up."

"Like what?"

"I don't think you want to know."

"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't ask."

The mermaid didn't answer.

"If you don't want to speak, that's fine." Izaya mused. "We haven't built enough trust for us to get personal. It's not like if you do tell me about your life story, I'm going to tell you anything about myself."

"What, no equivalent exchange?" Roppi chuckled.

"Nope."

Roppi chuckled again. "Well, at least you're honest." He then let out a sigh. "It's not that special, honestly."

Izaya just quietly waited.

"He caught me in one of his fishing nets, embarrassing as it is to say. He was trapping sharks, cuz shark meat is apparently worth a lot to some buyers. I got caught in one of his traps and he pulled me in. Kept me to make money, which he did for a while. I was a tourist attraction for a bit but he didn't get many since he had a little rink-a-dink home. Rich people would come and keep their hands in their pockets so they wouldn't touch anything. They wouldn't even shake his hand cuz he didn't introduce himself in a suit. He didn't have much business intelligence. It was kind of funny to see him fail.

"Eventually," the mermaid continued, "he stopped being a comp-out. It wasn't doing much for him, anyway. So, I just became a personal pet. He kept me drugged and chained in his chicken coop, in a tub kind of like this," he tapped the side of his plastic container. "He wasted a lot of money in order to keep me sedated. He wouldn't be able to keep me captive otherwise. So, all the money he got for his expulsion of me usually went towards my medication. Shit started going downhill for him then.

"I hated everything that was happening so far. Who wouldn't I? So, I was being spiteful. I ate all his chickens as revenge for the shitty lifestyle. I had enough energy to slowly start picking them off. He separated us with some wooden palette but in between my doses, I'd have just enough energy to drag myself over and kill and devour a few of them before he came to sedate me again. He noticed, but he just assumed they had gotten out and went looking for them. He started with fourteen and he finally started thinking things were off when he only had eight left. He moved his chickens across the yard. That only lasted for about a week. He went from eight to five, then five to two. Then two to zero.

"His wife got on his case about it. She made valid points too. Saying that 'if it could escape the and drag itself across the yard before you even notice, what's stopping it from getting into our beds while we sleep'. His arguments were pretty invalid but he was being stubborn. I was a rarity and we mermaids emit special pheromones. Humans say that they keep us to themselves because they didn't want PETA or scientists breathing down their necks and yada yada. But it's actually our pheromones effecting their brain. They don't want to give us up. They're compelled to keep us. Once upon a dream, humans described it as a 'sirens song' because prolonged exposure can make someone completely obedient to the mermaid and it only effects testosterone, not estrogen. Higher testosterone gives different responses. Nanasaki had very low testosterone so the 'sirens song' wasn't very effective towards him. To the point where he was able to toss me aside as payment is proof of that. The fisherman had high testosterone so him being around me made him a bit loopy. And most sailors back when in ancient times had very high levels of testosterone so they were more than willing to jump off their boats for a quick bang."

Izaya pulled his drip stand to the foot of the bed. The raven then positioned himself so he was sitting at the end of the bed, listening intently.

"Anyway," Hachimenroppi went on, "so his wife was on the fisherman's ass day after day after day to either kill me or get rid of me. At one point, she came at me with a knife. She was going to 'remove this devil from this world once and for all'. But the fisherman stopped her. They got into a big fight and she basically left him. Said 'It's either me or that thing!' and he chose 'that thing'. Without his wife, he was…well, there's no point to sugarcoat it. He raped me. I was heavily sedated so I barely remember it but I know it happened, multiple times. That went on for a few months. Eventually, his mother came to check on him and see how he's doing. Apparently, he started falling off the grid in favor of being with me.

"It was around that time I found out he had knocked me up. Mermaids and man can breed, as annoying as it is to say. If you get any ideas, I'll fucking end you, by the way. But anyway, he knocked me up and I realized that after his mother showed up. About a week later, his eldest son showed up as well. He was getting married and asked his dad to help pay for the wedding. The fisherman then decided that bronze necklace of mine could be worth a lot. So, he took it from me and sold it off. I was emotionally, hormonally imbalanced and rightfully pissed off because of everything that's happened over the last four months. So, when he came to me for one of his nightly visits, I suggested sedating me less. It'd be more fun for him. He was so high off of my song he agreed that'd be a good idea. So, he gave me half a dose.

"Halfway through that night, I came down from my high. I snuck into his house and while his mother slept…took care of. Her. I went for the mother because I wanted him to suffer for making me a mother. I killed her without a sound. She didn't even wake up as I snapped her neck. I ate her quickly. Took me about an hour to finish her off. Some mermaids have different evolutionary bodies. Some have two stomachs like a starfish and some can turn their stomachs inside out to puke up their last meal like a shark can—"

"Sharks can do that?"

"Yeah. It looks like they puke up this nasty sack—which is their stomach—and they puke up their last meal. Then they pull their stomachs back in without a problem."

"That's—no way~!"

"Google it if you don't believe me."

"No, no, I'll take your word for it. That would make me lose my appetite."

Roppi chuckled.

"Anyway, continue."

"Yeah, so that's what happened there. Some mermaids have two stomachs, some can puke up their stomachs, some don't have stomachs, some have normal human stomachs, and some have two and can puke up their stomachs. It depends on the area you're born at. I was born off the coast of Troy so I've got starfish and sharks. So, I have two stomachs and when both stomachs are full, I can puke up my top-most stomach. And so, eating a full human in the span of an hour is very possible for me. Eating two humans in one night is very possible.

"I ate his mother. Ended up puking once. Then I went off to eat his son. The one who took my necklace from me. His death wasn't as quiet. He woke up when I was sitting over him and he put up a fight. I killed him, regardless. The struggle woke his dad up, who came in to see me disemboweling his son. He was outraged, but I pinned him down, and—dripping in his sons and mothers blood—told him he brought this on himself. And I wasn't going to kill him because he had to suffer the consequences he created. I went back to my tub in the chicken coop because I was a good few miles from the water so I wouldn't make it in that night. I would have to wait till the next night to make my way to the ocean, less I get picked up by someone else.

"I should have left that night. Even if I didn't make it, I could have at least hid out and waited. But I wasn't thinking straight. The fisherman came the next day. He put my chains back on and started talking to my stomach. I realize now I must have broken his mind. He started talking to my stomach, saying he was sorry. And at first, I thought he was talking to the baby. But I realize now he must have been talking to his dead family in my stomach. He sat there apologizing for a while then said that he still wasn't going to let me go. I was his curse now and he wasn't going to let me plague another man's life.

"I don't know what Nanasaki said to convince him to sell me off, but he did. About two months after the apology fit, Nanasaki showed up as a tourist. He saw me, tried to talk to me—in which I was still high so I ignored him—and him and the fisherman went inside. They talked for a while—don't know how long—and he came back out. By evening a truck came by. He put me in a tank that was in a crate, gave me a few dead fish that had sedatives in them, closed me up, and shipped me off. I slept for the entire trip and ended up in Japan. Next twelve years, I live with that fucker and that's where this story ends."

"Wait, what happened to the baby?"

"Story time is over."

"But—"

" _Over_."

Izaya pouted.

 ** _'Nanasaki has no children. Roppi was the only mermaid he had…as far as I know. Did he have the children in a separate tank from him…her?'_**

"Do you like being referred to as he or she? Since your hermaphroditic."

"I've got a cock and no tits. Two-out-of-three-way guy so…"

"Are all mermaids hermaphroditic?"

"Not all. It's a regional evolutionary development, just like the stomachs. In the tropical areas, all the mermaids are strictly females and they breed with human females."

"How do they do that?"

"No clue. I think it's something about magic. Like they invade the mind through a dream and lay with them that way. Or something. I don't really know, nor do I have the opportunity to know. Those women are fucking savages, they don't even talk—just hiss and growl. It's like entering a school of piranha's. It's fucking terrifying."

"Well, then I'm glad the mermaid I came across wasn't a tropical one."

"Yes, be very happy."

Izaya chuckled and lied down. He put his pillow at the foot of the bed and got under the blankets.

"You going to rest?"

"For a bit. What kind of pasta do you want?"

"Eh?"

"I remembered what you said. You wanted pasta."

"I said I liked pasta. I didn't say I wanted any."

"So, you don't want any?"

"I! Never said that…either."

Izaya chuckled. "So, what would you like?"

The mermaid didn't answer at first. He shrunk lower into the water for a moment.

Izaya waited.

"…Spaghetti and meatballs."

Izaya chuckled. "Okay."

The raven sat up. His coat was gone but his phone, wallet and small collection of flick blades were sitting on a table by the bed. He grabbed his phone and opened it. Shinra was kind enough to charge it for him so it was at 100%.

"Why do you have so many flick blades, by the way?" Roppi asked.

"Because there's one more monster that's around. He and I don't get along very well."

"What kind of monster?"

Izaya put a finger to his lips as he put the phone to his ear. Roppi glowered but said nothing as Izaya placed an order for food.


	4. Chapter 4

Over the course of five days, Izaya and his mermaid stayed with Shinra and the Celty the dullahan. The two black-haired men barely had any contact with the lovers. That was mostly because of Celty. She didn't trust Izaya and even more so didn't trust his new friend, Hachimenroppi. If Izaya was going to get eaten, she didn't want Shinra to have any part of it. So, after the first day, whenever Shinra would come to administer Izaya's antivenin, Celty would be standing in the doorway—saying nothing and doing nothing more than observing. She did, at one point, catch Izaya on his way to the bathroom and told him her concerns about the 'man-eater' he had with him. She forewarned that mermaids weren't creatures out of fairy tales. They were vicious killers that can eat full men whole and the works that Izaya had already figured out. Izaya assured he was taking precautions and had many of contingency plans in case his new friend got hungry. Celty didn't seem content with that but she also knew she had no control over Izaya so if he got himself killed, it was nothing for her to worry about.

Finally, Izaya was in the clear to leave. Shinra gave him his physical, took a blood test that come back negative for venom, took a urine test that also came back negative and so Shinra had no reason to keep Izaya any longer. Although the doctor did try to convince Izaya so stay a few more days, the informant was certain it was because he wanted to get Izaya's blessing to experiment on his mermaid. Instead of shutting him down, he said he'd have him give Hachimenroppi a physical in a few days. Shinra let out a happy squeal and thanked him before the two were out the door.

Izaya had asked Shinra to go to his place and grab his ankle long parka. The doctor did so. Izaya gave the parka to Hachimenroppi, who put it on. The cloth covered his tail completely. Following the example of Monster Musume, Izaya requested a wheelchair, which he got, and two black ribbons, which he also got. He had Roppi conceal his ears against his head with the ribbon and soaked the other ribbon to wrap around his neck and keep him hydrated.

Izaya then called a handicap taxi and the two were on their way.

They made it to the warehouse without incident. Izaya payed the driver and the two went towards the doors.

"How much do you weigh, Roppi-chan?" Izaya asked.

"Not sure. Human-wise, I'd probably be 95lbs—I'm speaking out loud for my sake, don't interrupt. 95lbs if I had legs. But my tail adds about two feet to my height. Forty pounds for each foot so that'd be…175lbs. Minus about 60lbs because of starvation so…115, 110-ish."

"Okay."

Izaya opened the side door instead of the giant metal sliders. Loud noises berated Roppi's ears as soon as the entrance was open. He immediately covered his ears. Izaya didn't attempt to communicate anything as he rolled the mermaid inside.

Inside the warehouse were groups of men, working hard to create a box-like enclosure nearly the size of the room and half as tall in the center of the warehouse. They had all the glass walls up and welded together and were now working on a catwalk that lead up to the top of the enclosure. Roppi's eyes went wide.

 ** _'Is that…going to be my tank?'_**

Izaya waved to one of the workers and gestured he'd be upstairs. The worker gave him the okay and Izaya carted Roppi on his way. At the bottom of the steps, Izaya gestured for the mermaid to grab onto him. Roppi cocked a brow. Could this small man even lift 115lbs?

 ** _'Guess we'll just have to see.'_**

Roppi wrapped his arms around Izaya neck. The raven put his arms underneath Roppi's waist and what would be considered his knees. He lifted him up. The raven strained for a moment but once he was leaning backwards with Roppi firmly in his grasp, he seemed to have no problem. Izaya turned and went up the stairs.

They reached the office in moments. Nothing had changed in the five days they had been gone. Except for one thing. The water Roppi had puked in had become stagnant and the ootoro Izaya had ordered five days ago had gone very bad. A rotten stench encased the entire room. Izaya gagged upon entering.

"You think it's bad for you?" Roppi grumbled.

"Should have had the workers take care of that before it got this bad."

"I can take care of it now. Just open that window."

"Hah?"

"Trust me a bit."

Izaya looked down at his creature. But he decided to do as he said. He put Roppi down and went over to the windows along the side of the room. He pushed them all open and turned back to Roppi.

The mermaid had taken off his coat and put it neatly on the floor. He then dragged himself over to the tank. He grabbed it with one hand so the other one was free to pull himself to the window.

"No one's outside, right?"

Izaya cocked a brow, having a general idea of what was happening. The raven peeked his head out to see no one for miles and no one under the windows.

"You're okay." The informant responded.

Roppi nodded as he grabbed the tank with both hands. He pulled it up enough to get one hand underneath it. With little effort and without dumping any of the dirty water, Roppi lifted the tank above his head. He then gave a sizable toss and the tank slid out the window with no problem. Izaya stuck his head out to watch the tank fall. It hit the ground with a loud shatter, the tanks splitting along every seam to burst open. Water splashed everywhere. A sizable puddle expanded the stretch of the roadway.

"I don't think that was very necessary." Izaya said.

"Did you want to keep the stink in here?"

"No but we could have done something other than destroy the whole tank."

"Why would I want to keep that glass cage?"

"…Touché."

Roppi dragged himself over to his coat.

"You think the workers heard that?" The mermaid asked.

He put his coat on, half expecting someone to come up the steps.

"You stay here." Izaya ordered. "I'll go see if they did."

"Kay."

Izaya headed down the steps.

Roppi sighed as he leaned back against his new nine-by-six-by-five tank. He placed his hand over his stomach. He felt a sensation he wished he couldn't feel in the depths of his body. His eyes narrowed as his hand clenched.

"Roppi-chan, the workers didn't hear anything but I sent a few to go clean up the mess." Izaya called as he walked across the room.

"That's good. What excuse did you give them?"

"Just that we were trying to move the tank and were careless, nothing more."

"Okay."

"As far as they know, it wasn't filled with water."

"That would make far more sense."

"Exactly. Now, give me a few minutes to fill up this tank." Izaya patted the only remaining glass container. "You'll be using this until the one downstairs is ready."

"So, that is going to be my tank down there?"

"Of course."

"…Why would you waste that much money for me? That's no cheap thing that you're making."

Izaya smiled then shrugged. "Maybe because you're worth it?"

Roppi glowered.

"Anyway, this is going to get loud so cover your ears."

* * *

Izaya turned off the pump. He pulled the plastic tubes out of the now filled tank and let it lie down on the ground. The five-foot cylinder that was once filled with saltwater was now empty. Izaya had transferred it all over to the tank.

Izaya smiled. "Alright, Roppi-cha—"

Izaya didn't get to finish the sentence as a splash sounded. Izaya looked at the tank to see Roppi had already hopped in. Letting his black ribbons float up to the surface, Roppi exposed every part of his inhuman properties. Izaya glanced over to see that Roppi had neatly folded Izaya's parka and placed to the side of the tank.

Roppi seemed very pleased with his new tank. He did a barrel roll then a black flip, learning the full extent of the freedom he now had. He was still confined, both new that without question. But at least Roppi didn't have only enough room to turn his back on people. He could kick his fins to his heart's content. Splash around and even jump if he wanted. With no lid to keep his trapped under the surface, Roppi was as free as he was going to get.

Izaya smiled. It was like watching a happy dolphin, going from a small fish tank to an aquarium. A happy animal lied before Izaya eyes.

But an animal no less. And Izaya was the master with complete control over him. He could take away his tank, take away his ability to move around freely. And even if this creature killed him, he'd only make the situation worse for himself. Izaya was the lesser of two evils—an evil Roppi knew in comparison to an evil he had no clue would do.

Roppi and Izaya were both fully aware that this was their relationship. There was no need for explanations or confirmation. It was a known fact.

But there was no need to soil the moment with such thoughts. Roppi was enjoying clean water and free space while Izaya was content just watching.


	5. Chapter 5

**_'Day seven. Time for his physical.'_**

Izaya honored Roppi's request to withhold any medical tests. However, now it was Roppi's turn to honor his side of the bargain. And Izaya had plenty of questions he wanted to ask as far as Roppi's physicality's.

So, Izaya, accompanied with Shinra, walked into the warehouse. The 2000-by-4000 tank was complete. The glass was welded into place, the framing was enhanced with metal so there should be no leaks, and the catwalk leading up to an eagle's nest over the tank was in place and stable. Now, a mechanic was working on making a small crane, in order to lift the floating plates that would go over the tank. The plates wouldn't be latched. They were meant to keep the water clean, to keep things from falling into the water. It would also make sure that no one could easily get into the tank, as the plates were sturdy enough to stand on so long as someone could balance. It was mostly for Roppi's privacy, as the glass was only see-through so long as there was a light on the inside. Since he was a deep-sea creature, Izaya would assume he liked the dark even during the day. Either or way, Izaya thought it was a great idea to have floating plates as a lid to the tank.

Izaya waved to the mechanic but didn't bother to stop and chat. He was busy testing his device so it was best not to disturb him. The informant and the underground doctor went up the steps to the office.

"Roppi-chan~!" Izaya called. "Seven days are up. I brought Shinra to come see you."

"Hello, mermaid-san!" Shinra beamed. "I promise I'm only going to be giving a physical!"

The two entered the room. Both looked over at the tank.

Roppi glanced at them but said nothing. He had his arms on the edge of the tank so his head was above the water. But he had his head tilted down. His face contorted with pain and his breathing was heavy.

"What's wrong?" Izaya asked, walking over.

"Don't touch me." Roppi growled.

Roppi clenched his teeth with a groan, his nails digging into the glass.

"Where is your pain coming from?" Shinra knelt down in front of the tank as he opened his doctors bag.

"Do. Not. Touch. Me."

"Roppi-chan, if you're in pain, we can give you anesthetics." Izaya put his hands on the glass, standing underneath the mermaid. "It won't turn you human."

"Not taking the chance. I can't..." Roppi paused to groan. His whole body clenched. "If I sprout legs now..."

Roppi groaned. His tail kicked hard, splashing water. Izaya jumped back so he didn't get wet. Roppi's body convulsed.

Izaya looked at Shinra. Shinra just shrugged at him. "Unless I can get a blood test or a urine sample, I won't be able to figure ou—"

"Just shut up!" Roppi yelled. Both Izaya and Shinra's eyes widened. "You're not touching me so just fucking wait!"

"Roppi..."

Izaya fell silent as Roppi let out a loud groan. It sounded more like a scream but the mermaid refused to open his mouth so it was muffled. Roppi's body convulsed again. This time, it caused a small amount of blood to come from one of the slit's Roppi had on the front of his body.

Izaya's eyes widened. "Wait, are you..."

Roppi groaned again as another convulsion racked his body. More blood flowed into the water. The slit stretched as a figure was pushed out. Roppi exclaimed in pain as half of a little human pushed out of his body. He clenched his teeth and gave one last push. A child with half the body of a human and the other half of a fish was forced out of Roppi's body. A flow of blood followed., the crimson diluting to a pink as it spread across the water.

Roppi rubbed his head against the cold metal of the rim of the tank. Izaya wasn't sure if his hair was wet with water or sweat. The adult mermaid spent a moment to catch his breath. The newborn child, still curled up like a fetus, floated over and bumped into Roppi's fin. Roppi tilted his head so that he could see into the water.

The red-eyed monster put a hand into the water. He reached down and touched the creature with his index finger. The newborn's body jolted as if it was shocked, convulsing savagely for a moment. Then it uncurled. Its little arms spread wide, its tail stretched out. Slowly, the baby's eyes began to open.

Izaya made eye contact with a pair of golden orbs of the newborn mermaid. The baby kicked its fin, heading straight for the raven outside of the tank. Only to bounce head first off the glass with a loud thump. Izaya covered his mouth with his hand. Shinra's eyes widened.

"Oh god, did it just kill itself?" Shinra stood and leaned on the glass.

"No," Roppi said, looking down at the baby. He pushed the baby away from the glass, who was rubbing its head with its hands. "He's fine."

"A newborn baby just bashed its head on glass." Izaya said. "How can you be so certain?"

"Mermaids aren't as weak as human children. Last I checked, human children can't even lift their heads when they're born."

"How can you tell the gender?" Shinra asked, looking at the baby intently.

"…Smell. He smells of testosterone..."

Roppi groaned again.

His body convulsed.

"Are you birthing another?!" Shinra came around front to have the same angle as Izaya.

"Twins..." Roppi tilted his head down as his hands clenched the glass. "Yeah..."

Roppi exclaimed, keeping his mouth closed so it was muffled, as another flow of blood came out of his body. He then tilted his head up and screamed. Izaya's eyes widened and he backed away, pulling Shinra back too. Roppi kicked his tail fin repeatedly, splashing water out of the tank. The new born baby swam away from the thrashing mermaid so as not to get hit.

Roppi let go of the tank and sunk. He let himself sink down to the bottom, lying on the ground. Air bubbles came from his open mouth as his expression softened. Izaya was certain the mermaid had fainted due to the pain.

But it was short-lived. The red-eye fishman pushed himself off the glass. With one kick, he breached the water and hooked his arms back over the edge of the tank.

"Are...you okay?" Izaya asked.

Roppi didn't answer. He merely let out a pain-filled moan.

A convulsion gripped his body again. The mermaid tilted his head with an exclaim of pain.

"Agh, hurts..." Roppi said. Izaya thought he saw tears streak his cheeks but the water made it hard to tell. "Hurts..."

Roppi tilted his head down with a groan. He closed his eyes tight shut in pain as his body pushed out more blood. A child crested Roppi's womanly fold. The mermaid only gave one powerful push and the infant was born into the water, followed by another flow of blood. This child was also in the feeble position, eyes closed and unmoving.

The first born swam over and circled its new sibling. It reached out and touched the baby. The second child jolted like the first had—as if it had been zapped with electricity. Izaya recalled Nanasaki stating these creatures had some connection to electric eels. He'd have to ask Roppi later. The second child opened its eyes first. Bright red orbs stared at gold. It reached its little arms out for the sibling. The two infants, the first beginning to look more like a toddler than a baby, gripped hands. The golden boy pulled its sibling, which motivated the newborn to uncurl its tail.

"Wow, they already show intelligence." Izaya said, placing his hands on the glass.

"That's amazing! The first-born child looks like he's aged in the span of minutes!" Shinra beamed. "Look, he's significantly bigger than the other one. And he's sprouting hair! Look, look, black peach fuzz is developing on its head!"

Izaya gave a good look. His eyes widened to see Shinra was right. "Rapid aging. That's amazing."

"D-d-don't..."

Izaya and Shinra looked up at Roppi. The mermaid was panting heavily. His body was shaking and his eyes were glazed over with pain. Izaya wasn't sure how he was able to talk. For a moment, it looked like he was in too much pain to function, let along make a coherent sentence.

But regardless, the mermaid tried to speak to them. A desperate expression cascaded his beautiful features.

"Don't...take them yet. Not yet...Let me...five minutes...with them."

Izaya cocked a brow. Then he smiled as realization hit.

"That's what Nanasaki did with the baby. He took them from you."

Roppi submerged himself into the water. He swam over to his newborn and wrapped his arms around them. The babies let out audible squeals as they touched their father's face. Izaya could see shark teeth in their open mouths.

"I'm assuming this isn't his first birth on land." Shinra said, walking around to look at the babies.

"As far as I know this is his second. But the man I got him from had him for 12 years. I don't know what happened during that time. However, his pain-dazed response speaks loud enough, in my opinion."

"I have to agree." Shinra looked at them. "I would like to make sure the gold one didn't give itself brain damage."

"I think it's best if we wait. Let Roppi-chan rest up and let the kids get used to their environment."

Shinra looked at the baby with worry. But he didn't argue. "Well, what should we do for the time being?"

Izaya gave pause. "Let's go to lunch. We'll get something for Roppi and come back."

Shinra sighed heavily. "Ah, I really wanted to give the mermaid a physical. There are so many questions I wanted to ask!"

"We'll be back."

Shinra pouted. But said nothing as he packed his doctors bag and stood.

"Roppi-chan, we'll be back, okay?" Izaya said.

The mermaid didn't respond. Izaya didn't expect him to.

Shinra and Izaya turned and went to the stairs.

* * *

"Roppi-chan, I'm back. I brought you some fettucine alfredo with chicken and broccoli."

"You should eat something before your physical." Shinra called as he walked past Izaya into the office.

The mermaid didn't respond.

Izaya saw that the new mother and its two children were still in the water, which was a relief. Izaya really wouldn't want to go on a manhunt for his fish people. The babies were sleeping against Roppi's chest while Roppi was sitting on the floor of the tank. Izaya didn't know how he was staying sunk but he was, regardless. The parent's eyes were also closed.

"Roppi-chan, are you awake?" Izaya walked over to the tank, putting down some plastic bags.

The mermaid didn't stir.

"I would think mermaids wouldn't be light sleepers" Shinra input, "considering how vigilant they need to be in the deep sea."

"He did just give birth. He's probably exhausted."

"So, I can assume a mermaid's tolerance for that level of pain is about the same as a human's."

"I think so. Most animals can shrug it off right after birth."

Roppi's eyes opened a slit.

"Ah, did we wake you?" Izaya asked as he placed a hand on the glass.

Roppi glanced over at him.

"How you feeling?"

Roppi looked down at his children then back up at Izaya.

"Okay, let's do yes and no questions then. Are you okay?"

Roppi cocked a brow but nodded.

"Do you need any medical attention?"

Roppi shook his head.

"Are you hungry?"

Roppi nodded.

"I got you some chicken alfredo with broccoli so you can eat it when you're ready."

Roppi nodded.

"Do you want to eat now?"

Roppi looked at his children again then shook his head.

Izaya looked down at them as well.

"They aged a little bit more since the last time we saw them. They seem to be toddler's now."

Roppi nodded.

"Will they continue to age that rapidly?"

Roppi shook his head.

"Did Nanasaki take your last children from you?"

Roppi's eyes widened. He looked at him and for a split second, pure sorrow cascaded his expression. Then he glared. Hatred glowed in his red eyes as he made eye contact with Izaya.

"I'm not going to take your children from you, just so you know. I don't see much of a reason to do that."

Roppi looked skeptic.

"Do you know what happened to your child?"

Roppi glared for a moment, then adverted his eyes. He shook his head.

"Hm." Izaya looked at the newborns. "Well, we'll worry about that later. For now, Shinra needs to look you over and I need to change your water. It has turned quite pink. We've got some hydro's for you—"

Roppi shook his head.

Izaya cocked a brow. "You don't get much say in this. We had an agreement that you shall let Shinra look over you if I waited seven days. I realize now why you wanted me to wait but the seven days are up. And now, especially after having children, we need to make sure you are healthy."

Roppi shook his head.

Izaya glowered.

But before he could continue his attempt to lecture, his phone rang. He pulled it out to see it was the delivery men. He put the phone to his ear.

"Moshi. Yes. Go ahead and let yourself in. I'll be down in a minute."

Izaya hung up the phone.

"Who was that?" Shinra asked.

"Delivery service. They're here with a new 500 gallons of sea water. I'll be right back."

"Eh? Are you going to let them see him?"

"Of course not. I have a plan."

Izaya went down the stairs.

"Hello!" Izaya called to the workings.

The metal doors were opened and the men were already in the process of unpacking Izaya's purchase.

"Where do you want this?" One of the workers asked, holding a plastic tub full of water.

"I'll take that. Give me about ten minutes to get things situated upstairs, please." Izaya walked over.

"Of course. Take your time."

Izaya reached out and took the tub from the worker. The raven groaned and he had to lean back far in order to lift it. But lift it he did. The informant turned and headed up the steps. He leaned against the wall heavily, sliding against the wall as a way to support himself.

It felt like he was walking up those steps for twenty minutes but he finally reached the top. He put the heavy item in the corner with a low thunk and a hearty groan. The raven shook out his hands. Roppi cocked his brow.

"Okay," Izaya turned to the mermaid. "We're going to put the babies in there. The men won't see them that way. Roppi-chan, you're going to take some hydro's and change into these." Izaya picked up one of the vinyl bags he had brought. "These men are also going to be changing the water out of the tank and put in the new water. It'll get loud so I want you to take the babies downstairs while they're up here."

Roppi did not look like he was fully behind this plan.

"You don't have much of a choice here, Roppi. Unless you want these random blue collars to see you."

Roppi glared. But he let out a heavy sigh and nodded. He gestured for Izaya to get close.

The informant pulled a collapsible ladder to the tank, one he had bought two days ago in order to give Roppi his food while he was in the tank. Izaya unfolded the ladder and climbed up. Roppi put one baby in his hand and raised it up. He gave it a push so it floated to the surface. Izaya cocked a brow as to why Roppi didn't just swim up but he didn't question it for now. Izaya took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and put his hands in the water. He pulled the baby out of the tank and held it to Shinra.

"Put the baby in the tub."

"Got it."

Shinra carefully took the baby from Izaya and went over to the tub. The doctor pulled the lid off and put the baby in the water.

The three repeated the acts with the second child and soon the two were in the tub and Shinra was putting the lid back on. Roppi then positioned himself so he was kneeling in the water. He pushed off the ground and reached his arms up to grab the rim of the tank. He didn't go up as much as he had wanted, however, and ended up sinking back to the bottom. Roppi tried again, and again failed to reach. But this time, Izaya reached his hands into the water and grabbed Roppi's wrist. He pulled the mermaid up to the surface.

"Why are you sinking?" Izaya asked.

"I emptied my flotation bladder so I wouldn't float around. That's how I sleep."

"That's interesting!" Shinra beamed.

Roppi glowered at him before he pulled himself out of the tank. He put his hands out and caught himself on the floor. He did a handstand momentarily. Then gravity worked on the rest of his body and his tail slammed against the ground with a wet slap.

"Here." Shinra held out a bottle of hydrocodone to the mermaid.

Roppi looked at the bottle. Then at Shinra. Then at Izaya.

"Just so you know," Roppi said as he took the bottle. "I won't be able to talk while I'm on hydro's."

"Oh? Why?" Izaya asked as he took a towel to his arms.

"This transfiguration doesn't come free." Roppi opened the bottle and dumped two hydro's into his hand. "In exchange for legs, a mermaid will lose one of its five senses. Touch, talk, hear, smell, and sight. The sense I'll lose is my ability of speech."

"Why?"

"Later."

Roppi put the pills in his mouth. He swallowed without hesitation.

Within minutes, Roppi's body started shaking. He began to pant heavily as he lied down on his side. He teeth and hands clenched tight. Izaya sat down by Roppi, staring at his fin intently. His tail began to shake badly, worse that his human half was. It was as if he was molting as scales fell off in handfuls. A thick line began to form down the middle of his fin. Roppi rolled over on his back, propping himself on his elbows. He growled as he brought his fin up.

Like a caterpillar coming out of a cocoon, a pair of legs spread away from the fin. Roppi tilted his head back with his mouth agape. Izaya wasn't sure if he was trying to scream or if he was just letting out a breath of pain. The mermaid used his hands to pull himself away from the fin. The scales detached around his waist, a pair of pale legs in its place.

Roppi lied before Izaya in a completely human form. His legs were soaked with a clear, milk-like fluid while his tail was beginning to dissolve against the concrete floor.

"Here." Izaya handed the creature a towel.

Roppi looked up at him, said something that was inaudible, then took the towel. He put the towel over his legs. Softly, he rubbed his legs downs, cringing all the while.

"Are your legs sensitive right now?"

Roppi nodded.

"Will the hydro's make the pain go away eventually?"

Roppi nodded.

"How long?"

Roppi glared at him.

"Right, sorry."

Roppi rolled his eyes and continued to softly pat. Izaya put the vinyl bag by the monster's side.

"If I knew your legs were going to hurt, I would have gotten you pajama's instead of jeans."

Roppi mouthed something. Izaya didn't know what.

The creature tossed the towel to the side and sat up completely. He sat criss-crossed as he pulled the bag to him and began fishing through the bag.

"Waah!" Shinra squealed as he looked down at Roppi. "You don't have any genitalia!"

Izaya had noticed that but he figured he'd ask Roppi about it later. The spot where Roppi should have had genitals was only a smooth mound of flesh.

Roppi said nothing—not like he could even if he wanted to—as he pulled out a pair of pants from the plastic bag.

"There's underwear in there." Izaya pulled the bag a bit to show him.

Roppi shook the pants out then put his feet into the jeans. He hissed in pain as he pulled the black jeans up inch by inch. He pulled them over his rump and buttoned them up.

Roppi reached into his bag and pulled out a long sleeve. He put it on without hesitation. He then pulled out some socks. He slowly put them on, clenching his teeth in pain. He grabbed the last item in the bag—a pair of black combat boots—and pulled them on. He hissed but didn't stop his action and had both shoes on and tied in minutes.

Izaya stood. He held his hand out to the used-to-be-mermaid. Roppi looked at him, at his offering. Roppi then pushed himself to his feet. Izaya took his hand back and put it in his pocket. Roppi walked, slowly, over to the tub. He picked it up and headed to the stairs.

Izaya followed with Shinra on his tail. Izaya sped up to Roppi so he was right behind him.

"Take them out the back door. In case they wake up, we don't want any of the workers questions how we handle 'animals'."

Roppi nodded.

The three adults went downstairs without further conversation.


	6. Chapter 6

Izaya went out the back door of the warehouse. Coming out, he saw Shinra sitting on the small steps in front of the door. He had the tub in front of him and the lid was off. The two children were holding his hands and gooing at him. The babies have aged significantly since Izaya saw them nearly an hour ago. The first born had a full head of luscious black hair with eyes that rivaled gold. The second born looked only a little bit younger with a mess of blond hair and blood red eyes that matched its father's.

Roppi was sitting next to the steps, eating his alfredo. He had his back to the Shinra but he was keeping an eye on his children.

"The workers are gone." Izaya said. "You wanna finish eating before you go upstairs?"

Roppi shook his head. He closed his to-go box and stood. He handed the box to Izaya. The raven took it. The beached mermaid then shooed Shinra away. The doctor opened his mouth to protest but a sharp glare and a low growl from Roppi silenced him right quick. He stood and went up the steps to stand by Izaya. Roppi snorted in annoyance at Shinra before he knelt down.

"Abaa!" The babies reached up to their father.

Roppi kissed the babies' hands lovingly. He grabbed the handles to the tub and lifted. He leaned back so the tub was partially sitting on his hips. The mermaid with legs then turned and went up the steps.

Izaya and Shinra led the way into the building. Izaya held the door opened for Roppi. Now inside, they then went to the stairs. Izaya was first up the steps with Shinra in the middle and Roppi taking up the rear.

Once in the office, the two humans stepped to the side to be out of the way of the mermaid. Roppi headed straight for the tank. The tank was now filled with clear salt water and the original 500 gallons tank that Izaya had emptied himself was gone. Most-likely taken by the delivery men with Roppi's dirty pink water. He looked over at Izaya.

"What?"

Roppi mouthed something but no words came out.

"I'm sorry, I can't read lips."

Roppi opened glared at him. Then rolled his eyes with a disgusted snort and faced the tank.

 ** _'He's developed an attitude quite fast.'_** Izaya took note.

He put the tub down. He pulled the step ladder over to the tank and stepped up. He knelt down and grabbed the blond child first. He lifted it up, water cascading off its tiny body, and put it over the bigger tank. He gently put the baby into the water, the blond sinking in until the water was up to its chest. Roppi let it go to swim on its own accord. He knelt down and did the same with the first born. This one was more rambunctious, kicking his wet tail furiously to douse Roppi in water. Once he was over the tank, he struggled out of Roppi's hand and splashed into the water. He gave the blond child a shove before swimming lower into the water.

Roppi glared at the child but couldn't lecture him. So, he stepped down and sat on the top of the step ladder. He looked over at Roppi and held his hand out to him expectantly.

"You could say please." Izaya sneered.

Roppi openly glared at him. He rolled his eyes yet again and turned away from Izaya, deciding that watching his children was far more interesting than him. Izaya chuckled before walking over.

"Here." Izaya held the to-go box out to him.

Roppi flipped him the bird, keeping his eyes on the tank.

Izaya scrutinized him. "That's rude."

 _"You're rude."_ Roppi mouthed the words. Izaya didn't need to read lips to figure that out.

Izaya chuckled and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a sizable smart phone and handed it to Roppi. Roppi ignored him. Izaya tapped it against his arm. The mermaid looked down at the device.

"Do you know how to type?"

Roppi looked up with him. He made a fist and jerk it forward in an obvious gesture that Izaya didn't understand. Roppi then took the device from him. There was no password lock on this phone so Roppi hovered his thumbs around the screen before he found the messaging app. He clicked it, opened a blank message sent to no one and began to type.

 **[Do you know sign language?]** Roppi typed.

"No." Izaya said, then looked over his shoulder at Shinra. "Do you know sign language?"

"No."

 **[He doesnt know sign language although hes with a creature that cant speak without her head?]**

"Heh, that's a valid point. But I don't think Celty knows sign language either."

"Celty? What about Celty?" Shinra walked over. "She doesn't know sign language."

Roppi erased the message to type a new one as Shinra now stood behind him.

 **[Do either of you know Morse Code?]**

"No." Shinra said.

"Yes." Izaya sat down, leaned back against the tank, and put the to-go box down by his side.

 **[Good. Typing is a pain so if I cant find something to write or type on…]**

"Got it." Izaya smiled at him.

Izaya felt a small thump against the glass behind him. The informant looked over his shoulder to see the golden-eyed mermaid tapping on the glass at him. The baby smiled and swam away. He did a back flip under the water before pressing his hands to the tank again.

 **[He likes you.]** Roppi held the phone up to Izaya's face.

"Is there a particular reason?"

 **[He imprinted on you.]**

"Hah?"

 **[Mermaids imprint on the first creature they see. Its why he tried to swim at you, when he smacked his head on the glass.]**

"…Wait, so he thinks I'm his parent?"

 **[No he knows Im his parent. Your just going to be a small obsession for him until he learns to control himself.]**

"…Should I be worried?"

 **[Only til he looks like hes 9 or 10ish. He might try to eat you before then.]**

"Eat me?"

 **[He only understands that he wants you. He doesnt understand HOW he wants you. And to a child the basic want is food so…]**

Izaya did not like that. Roppi erased the message and wrote a new one.

 **[Not every mermaid thinks like that, just so you know. He may want to be your friend, he may want you to be his uncle. We wont know until hes old enough to speak. Once he looks 5 we can ask him but that doesn't mean hell know the answer. Most dont until 10]**

"How fast do mermaids age?" Shinra asked.

 **[So long as they stay in salt water, theyll age about 5 ½ years every 3 months. Theyll be fullgrown by the end of the year]**

"And if they're out of salt water?" Izaya asked.

 **[Out of salt water]**

Roppi paused. He was hesitating with a glower towards the device.

"You don't need to be nervous, Roppi-chan." Izaya tapped Roppi's leg. "We're not going to separate you from your children. We just want to know about the magnificent creature I've found."

Roppi cringed in pain before smacking Izaya's hand away. The informants eyes widened.

 **[Do not touch! It hurts!]**

"Hurts?" Izaya balked.

 **[Yes, hurts! Havne't you ever read the Little Mermaid? The book, not the Disney shit.]**

"…I haven't read it, personally, but I know the story line. She falls in love with a prince, gets legs, the prince marries someone else and she turns to sea foam."

 **[You skipped the part where her new legs hurt to touch and move. That if felt like she was stepping on glass with each step.]**

"Yeah, I remember that."

 **[Same concept.]** Roppi gestured to his legs. **[These pants are fucking killing me and you touching them desont help!]**

"If your pants hurt then take them off."

 **[Fuck no. I may not have a cunt but I still have a asshole.]**

Izaya rolled his eyes. "I've already told you I'm not like Nanasaki. I have no interest in any human lacking genitalia. And I can guarantee I hold zero interest of doing any form of misconduct with a fish."

Roppi cocked a brow in skepticism. Then looked to the side in what looked like remorse.

"I'm assuming Nanasaki is the father of these two." Izaya looked over his shoulder at the infants. The black-haired baby was trying to entice the blond to play. "Unless you have a longer pregnancy than twelve years."

 **[Don't be retarded.]** Roppi typed with a sigh. **[Nothing on earth has a 12 year pregnancy.]**

"So, he has to be the father."

Roppi immediately looked distressed as he stared at the ground.

Izaya reached up and touched Roppi's hand. The mermaid flinched away, casting him a glare. Roppi typed and held it out to Izaya.

 **[if you meant your not like Nanaski then dont touch me unless I say so.]**

"…Okay, I can agree to that. However, two things,"

Roppi looked at him. Izaya smiled.

"First," Izaya touched the phone. "It's Y-O-U-apostrophe-R-E. 'You are' not 'your'."

Roppi gave him an 'are you serious' look.

"Second, you still need to take a physical from Shinra. We _need_ to make sure you are in proper health. Now that you have children, your good health is a necessity."

"Is the pain in your legs permanent?" Shinra inputted. "If it is then I'm not sure I can give him a physical in this stage."

Roppi stared at Izaya for a moment. Then he glanced at Shinra. He began to type so the two can see.

 **[the pain isnt permanent with hydos. It only lasts two hours.]**

"Do different pain killers have different effects?" Shinra beamed.

 **[Yeah. Hydros is the best though. It makes us the purest human form—which is why I dont have genitals right now. The pain goes away after two hours and the effects of having legs lasts 3 mons.]**

"Whaa! That's awesome! Three months with only two hours of pain! That's a great trade-off! What causes the change? Is it specifically painkillers or is it other drugs too? Like Tylenol or Morphine? What's the worse drug to use for this transformation? Does all painkillers stop the pain? Is there a drug that develops your genitalia? Are you hermaphroditic or does it only develop one—nahow~ how~!"

Roppi cut Shinra off by pulling on his cheek, stretching his mouth out.

"How, mm shory. Em shory."

Roppi let go.

"Ow~!" Shinra rubbed his cheek.

 **[One question at a time, dick cheese.]**

"I'm sorry~!"

Roppi rolled his eyes.

 **[To answer SOME of your questions, so long as the drug has acetylsalicylic acid, it can cause the transformation. Not every painkiller makes the pain go away, some just do the transformation. Aspirin is the worse to use. It's…]**

Roppi hesitated then sighed.

 **[Its known as "the breeding drug" for mermaids. It makes it so a mermaid will have female genitalia, no matter what, and the pain doesn't go away at all. So its the worst. Your legs feel like you're getting stabbed by glass the entire time and you can have sex. So having sex with that, it's the worse feeling in the world. Id rather give birth than go through that shit.]**

"Speaking from experience?" Izaya asked.

Roppi openly glared at him. **[Eat shit and die.]**

Izaya chuckled. "Sorry, that was insensitive."

A growl boiled in the depth of Roppi's throat. He snorted.

 **[Anyway, you can give me a physical in about two hours.]** Roppi held the phone out to Shinra. **[But most of my illnesses are things that have to do with mermaid organs and mermaid appendages. So as of right now I'm technically healthy, albeit being underweight.]**

"Eh, do you know what you ailed from before as a mermaid?"

 **[I had fin deterioration, I think you could have guessed. That can be fixed with clean water and vitamin C so itll go away after a while. And I had an infection in my flotation bladder.]**

"Oh, how did you know that?" Izaya asked. "Could you just feel it or…?"

 **[I cant balance in the water. I dont know if you noticed, but every once in a while I would do a twist in the water. That wasnt on purpose, my flotation bladder is fucked.]**

"Are you sure it's your floatation bladder?" Shinra inquired. "I heard that swimmer's bladder disease can be mistaken for digestive infections."

 **[If I starve myself for 3 or 4 days and still have swimming problems then its my floatation bladder. Thanks to Nanasaki, I know its my floatation bladder. The asshole would only feed me a bundle of dead fish once a week.]**

"How do we fix this disease?" Izaya asked.

 **[Its caused by inadequate water temperature. So just fixing the water and taking a medicinal bath is enough for a mermaid. If it doesn't get better in a week then I need to take another bath and be on a strick pea diet.]**

"I'm assuming in human form you don't have a floatation bladder."

 **[Right.]**

"Is swimmer's bladder disease deadly?"

"Yes." Shinra said. "It can kill a fish by the end of the month."

"How long have you had this problem?" Izaya looked at Roppi.

Roppi shrugged. **[A while. Im not so weak, I wont die from something like this.]**

"Being weak doesn't have to do with your internal health. If your organs are failing, you'll die."

 **[Im half human so I can survive longer than I should even if my organs start failing.]**

"If that's your way of reassuring someone, your technic is lacking."

 **[Im just saying, I wont die just because of my floatation bladder. Unlike fish, its not needed for me to breath. I can just pull myself to the surface and breath air.]**

"…All the same, I think you should return to your true form as soon as possible if you can."

 **[…Id need to purge myself and drink salt water. I wouldnt be able to east for about a week and Id have to puke everyday]**

"That's unpleasant." Shinra said. "I don't think he should do that. He's anorexic as is."

"However, if it lasts 3 months, he could die before he turns back."

 **[As of right now, I dont have a floatation bladder so I wont die till I turn back.]**

"What happened to the illness then? Does it get put to on other organs?"

Roppi shook his head.

"That doesn't seem biologic.." Izaya stopped himself.

Roppi looked at him with a grin that said 'realized your mistake there, did ya?'

 **[Don't forget, I do have some magic to me, sweetheart. Not everything about me is supposed to biologically make sense, no different than your headless friend.]**

"Yeah, I realize." Izaya said. He then sighed. "I'd still like Shinra to look at you, even in this form. It should be simpler than the one in your mermaid form."

 **[…How simple?]**

"A routine check of your muscles and bone alignment, a blood test and STD test—"

 **[I cant get STDs.]**

Izaya paused. Then nodded. "Then just a blood test to make sure you don't have other diseases. Is there anything you can't get?"

 **[I cant get cancer or HIV or Hepatitis. Stuff like kidney infections, heartworms, and tetanus are possibilities. Simple diseases that can turn fatal, but not near incurable diseases.]**

"I'll run some basic tests then." Shinra said. "I will need to take a decent amount of blood in order to cover all the tests in one go. Or, I can come back and do the rest another time, I'll leave that up to you."

Shinra looked over at the babies.

"I would also like to make sure they don't have anything. No hereditary diseases or disorders that may have been in this Nanasaki's DNA."

Roppi looked at Shinra with a glare. Then he looked at his babies. He typed.

 **[Nanasaki's hereditary's wont pass on unless I had them too. Mermaid children rarely have a resemblance to their father. It would take a few generation of breeding with humans to change that.]**

"Eh, so if one of them," Izaya pointed at the babies, "were to mate with a human, the chances of their child resembling the father would be high?"

Roppi shook his head. **[Id need to be a great great grandfather at least.]**

"Waah, that's so amazing~." Shinra swooned. "That goes against DNA structuring!"

"Might I ask then," Izaya pointed to the second born, ignoring Shinra. "Why is he a blond when you have black hair?"

 **[My mother was a blond. Our dominant/recessive genes arent the same as humans. So long as one of immediate ancestors had it, it can be passed down to the next generation.]**

"What's the science behind that?!" Shinra looked ecstatic.

 **[I dont think it is science. Thats just how we are.]**

Shinra looked like he wanted to ask more questions but Izaya cut him short.

"Should we start with the babies?" Izaya looked at the infants.

 **[I dont want you to give them an examination.]**

"I really think we should." Shinra said. "Especially the first born. He smacked his head hard. We don't want to take the chance he has a concussion."

 **[You cant take them out of the water.]**

"…I'm going to have to if I'm to examine his head. We'd need to take him back to my house for a CAT scan."

 **[No.]**

"Roppi," Izaya started. "The health of your children is something you shouldn't be stubborn about."

 **[If you take them out of the water, they'll sprout legs.]**

"Hah?"

 **[Its an instinctive reaction. Like how you put a human baby in the water itll instinctively start swimming? If a mermaid is on land and dries out, theyll sprout legs. They wont be able to return to their true form unless they get to a body of salt water and if they dont return to salt water before they hit puberty they wont be able to turn back ever.]**

"I see."

"Waah, how do they do that? I thought you need painkillers to change?"

 **[We need painkiller to change as an adult. Its not natural for an adult to sprout legs. They have to force the change.]**

"Might I point out, Roppi." Izaya interrupted. "Your fear is unwarranted. I have more than enough salt water to fill several tanks so we can take Hibiya out, get him a CAT scan and put him back in the water by the end of the day."

Roppi cocked a brow, glaring at him. _"Hibiya?"_ He mouthed.

"What, I thought it was cute? This is a very wonderful day, don't you think?"

 **[You decided to name my kid after yourself?]**

"Of course not. Hibiya and Izaya don't sound the same at all."

 **[…Okay, how would you spell it?]**

Izaya took the phone from Roppi and began scrolling through the kanji rolls. He then handed it back with the word日々也 in the text box.

Roppi glared at it then glared up at Izaya.

 **[How do you spell your name?]** Roppi held the phone out to him.

Izaya took it and spelt 臨也.

 **[You did name him after yourself! Hibiya is spelt** **日比谷** **! You changed the spelling!]**

"I would think he'd need to have an original spelling of his name. Hibiya is a plain, feminine name. I've changed the spelling so that it is more masculine."

 **[You bitch!]** Roppi chuckled as he rolled his eyes.

"Would you like to name him?" Izaya chuckled as well.

 **[No, Hibiya's a good a name as any. I usually don't name them the first day.]**

Roppi looked at the infants. 'Hibiya' was grabbing his sibling by its fin and dragging its backwards. Roppi tapped on the glass, which caught both the children's attention. Roppi pointed sternly at Hibiya. He then extended his index and middle finger into a peace sign then extended his thumb outward. He sternly shoved his hand at Hibiya and shook his head.

The baby pouted before letting go of his sibling. The blond pulled away and shook out its tail. Hibiya swam away from the blond. The second born swam over to its sibling to try and cheer him up.

"Is there a particular reason you don't name them the first day?" Izaya asked.

Roppi looked over at the raven. He typed. **[Not really. They don't really have a personality until a week or so later so I dont know what to call them.]**

"Hm. Well, how about this."

Izaya stood and turned to the tank. He pointed at Hibiya.

"His name is Hibiya because his birth is a great day and his eyes look like the sun."

He then pointed to the blond.

"His name is Tsukishima. Because he was born on land, his hair looks like the moon, and he seems to be the opposite of Hibiya."

 **[He doesnt have much of a personality to be considered Hibiyas opposite. And just so you know, he is a he.]**

"I beg to differ. Hibiya seems ready to play and interact where as Tsukishima is being very reserved and quiet. Hibiya is being as radiant as the sun but Tsukishima is being as serene as the moon."

Roppi laughed. **[You want to name my children after Artemis and Apollo?]**

"Considering the story of mermaids started in Greek mythology, I see no better fitting."

Roppi chuckled, a genuine smile on his face. He shook his head as if Izaya had suggested something ridiculous. **[Okay. Hibiya and Tsukishima it is.]**

Izaya smiled. "But back onto an important topic. We can take Hibiya out and get him a CAT scan and have him back in salt water before the end of the day. Does it hurt for them to sprout legs?"

Roppi's smile vanished. He immediately scowled and glanced to the side. He typed without looking at Izaya. **[No, they dont. Its natural for them.]**

"Then you don't need to worry." Izaya smiled reassuringly.

 **[There is a lot to worry about. Were in a city, Izaya. There are so many smells so many sounds. They were just born their senses will be bombarded. On top of that theyll stop aging rapidly and age at a humans pace. Itll be like everything starts slowing down for them. Itll confuse them.]**

Izaya glowered at Roppi. He then sighed and knelt down so he had to look up at the mermaid. "What do you want to do then? We can't let Hibiya go unchecked after how hard he smashed his head."

Roppi glanced to the side. He looked at Izaya, then Hibiya—who was doing twists in the water—then looked at Shinra.

He typed. **[…I dontknow. Maybe…can we wait till night? Get some noise cancelling headphones and something to cover up the smell of the cities. I dont want them to sprout legs so we need to keep their gills wet.]**

Roppi looked up at Izaya.

 **[If we can do that, then I have no complaints of taking them to get tested.]**

Izaya nodded. "Okay."

"Well, we could call Celty." Shinra said.

The two raven's turned to the brunette.

"Celty's shadows have been known to cancel out noise. She could make a bubble full of salt water and she can carry it to the apartment, no problem."

Roppi cocked a brow. **[I thought Celty didnt like me.]**

"She doesn't trust you. But she's not cruel. If we have babies to take care of here then she'll help us."

 **[You certain?]**

"Of course!"

Roppi didn't look convinced. But he nodded nonetheless. **[Okay. Ill give it a shot.]**

Shinra smiled. "I'll give her a call then."

* * *

 **Just so everyone knows, I'm freehanding this (typing it on a computer instead of writing in a notebook first) and immediately posting the chapter once it's proofread. Because of that, I can't really go back and change something in order to make something make sense later on. This is a real spur of the moment fanfic so even though I could put a bunch of depth into this story, I can't think too far ahead with the little details. So if something doesn't make sense, like if the character's randomly change their mind, its because I decided one thing in one chapter then decided to go to a different scene in the next. The characters will help me along and fix it with me but if anyone questions why they suddenly changed their mind, chalk it up to the characters being ignorant about something and they figure it out then.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Don't forget to review.**

 **Stick with me, I'm not sure how long this story will be but it'll be relatively short.**

 **KCK**


	7. Chapter 7

Izaya texted on his phone. He sat on Shinra's couch; Roppi, Tsukishima, and were Celty elsewhere in the apartment. Izaya decided to do some research while he waited for Shinra to get done with his CAT scan of Hibiya. Celty was in the room with Shinra, keeping an eye on the mermaid Shinra was examining.

Izaya tapped furiously on his phone. A phone in his pocket buzzed. He pulled it out. Reading the message, he texted back quickly. He returned his attention back to the first phone. A smile crossed his lips.

The informant heard the door open down the hall. He looked over his shoulder.

"How'd it go?" Izaya asked.

"Productive." Shinra said. "Despite the way he treats his sibling, Hibiya's quite well mannered."

"Eh? I wonder if that's natural or just his personality."

"Maybe he learns quickly. Roppi didn't say anything but he was quite strict earlier."

"I wonder what their compacity to learn is."

The doctor walked in, follow by Celty who was holding the baby mermaid in her arms. Next to the couch was a tub—this one yellow instead of blue—filled with salt water. Celty knelt down and put the baby in the water. Izaya scooched over so that was resting against the arm of the couch by Hibiya. The toddler-like creature looked up at Izaya, a wet neck tie around his neck, and smiled happily. He reached for the informant, mouth agape. Izaya heard a noise similar to a pop come from the child's mouth and Izaya say the fangs of a shark cascade over his small human teeth.

Izaya cocked a brow. "He's already gone through teething."

"Has he?" Shinra leaned forward.

"Human teething. He hasn't even cried once."

"They must have a higher pain-tolerance of some sort. Where's Hachimen-san?"

"He's in the bathtub with Tsukishima."

"Bathtub?" Shinra looked up at him. "Why?"

"Said he wanted to hold his kid. So, he filled the bathtub and has been lying down with Tsukishima."

Hibiya yelled at Izaya. Izaya looked down at the baby. The baby was casting him a glare with his hands outstretched. Roppi's warning echoed in his head.

 _'He only understands that he wants you. He doesnt understand HOW he wants you. And to a child the basic want is food so…'_

"Sorry, Hibiya. I don't fully trust you."

The babies glare deepened. He let out a scream, obviously upset. He held his hands out to Izaya again, opening and closing his hands demandingly.

"Hibiya, no—"

"Naaah!" Hibiya splashed his hands in the water.

Izaya pouted. He then sighed heavily. "Shinra, can you hand me a towel?"

"Eh? You caved so easily." Shinra looked at Izaya.

"Who can say no to that face? He wants what he wants; it's quite cute honestly."

"Do you think it's smart to hold him though? Remember what Hachimen-san said."

"I know. But I've taken plenty of leaps of faith with these creatures so far."

 **[I do not think this is a good idea.]** Celty put her PDA in Izaya's face.

"It's fine." Izaya pushed the PDA away as Shinra walked down the hall. "You're here if things get ugly, if you don't mind standing on the defense."

Celty didn't try to type anything. Just stared down at him.

Izaya chuckled. "Would you feel better if I paid you?"

Izaya got the feeling that Celty was disappointed as she just shook her helmet at him and turned away. Izaya chuckled as he reached his hands down to Hibiya. The amber-eyed mermaid smiled and grabbed at Izaya, holding the adults' index fingers in his tiny hands. Izaya smiled.

"Don't crush my fingers else I can't hold you, okay?"

"Uh gah! Eeeah!"

Izaya chuckled. "It's Iza."

"Eeah!"

"Eeee-zzah~"

"Ee…Eesa."

"Eee _Zah_."

"Eez-sa."

Izaya chuckled. "Close enough."

"Izsa!"

"Iza~"

"Izsa!"

"Is he already saying his first word?!" Shinra yelled, rushing down the hall.

"Close."

"Izsa!"

"He learns so fast!" Shinra looked absolutely giddy.

The doctor handed Izaya the towel. He pulled his fingers from Hibiya and reached up. He took it graciously and unfolded it. He rested it on his lap and chest. He then leaned down and pulled Hibiya up. Water drizzled off the mermaid. Hibiya kicked his fin happily, splashing Izaya. The informant flinched on reflex before pulling Hibiya over and sat him on the towel on his lap. The mermaid baby smiled happily before resting against Izaya's chest.

Izaya put his hand on Hibiya's back. He felt a distinct thump against his hand. It was a heartbeat, no doubt. But what was strange that there was a matching heartbeat on the wrong side of his chest.

"Have you done an X-Ray on him?" Izaya looked up at Shinra.

"Yeah. They'll print in the next ten minutes."

"I think he has two hearts."

"I think so too. That's why I did X-Rays."

Izaya smiled. "Roppi-chan did say that there were several possibilities with mermaids. I wonder if he has two hearts too."

"I plan to do X-Rays with him too. He's getting dressed now."

Izaya chuckled as he rubbed Hibiya's back.

Then, all too quickly, Hibiya was lifted from Izaya's hands. Izaya's eyes widened for a moment, so did Hibiya's. Izaya looked up.

Roppi was casting Izaya a glare full of complete hatred. His lips pulled back in an animalist snarl as he held Hibiya in his hand. Tsukishima was hanging from Roppi's back, his tiny hands wrapped around the raven's neck. Roppi pulled Hibiya to his chest, holding the golden boy tightly.

Roppi snorted at Izaya before turning and heading to the tub. He held Hibiya in one arm and pulled the tub away from the couch to the chair. He put Hibiya in the water. He then sat down and grabbed Tsuki's hands. He swung the boy around gently and put the blond in the water too.

Hibiya immediately gave Tsukishima a shove. Roppi clapped his hands at Hibiya loudly before making the same hand gesture before, making a victory sign with his thumb out. Hibiya glared, then pouted. He turned away from Roppi and leaned himself over the edge of the tub.

"He's got a lot of personality for a toddler."

 **[Hes tempermental.]**

"Like father, like son."

Roppi rolled his eyes.

"Well, are you ready for your examination?" Shinra asked.

 **[So long as Izaya doesn't pick up Hibiya again, yeah.]** He held the phone out to Shinra, then Izaya, then Celty.

"Eh?" Izaya cocked a brow. "He didn't try to eat me."

 **[Do. Not. Fuck. With. A mermaid.]** Roppi gave Izaya an evil glare. **[Luring humans into a false-sense of security is a specialty. You. Will die. If you underestimate us. Even a newborn.]**

"That sounds quite interesting." Izaya smiled nonchalantly, raising his hands in a sign of surrender. "I wonder how fast an infant mermaid could eat a full-grown man."

Roppi growled again. He then closed the phone and tossed it at Izaya.

"Eh? You're going to need this to talk."

Roppi flipped him off.

Izaya took on a droll expression. "You're so crude."

Roppi walked past Izaya. He looked at Celty. He then pointed to Izaya, then to Hibiya, then swung his hand back and forth over his neck as a sign of a 'no-go'. Celty nodded. Roppi then turned and headed down the hall, Shinra following.

"You would think two mute monsters would be able to communicate better than those who can speak." Izaya said, folding up the towel. "He knows sign language and Morse Code but you seem to be lacking in that department, Black Bike-san."

Celty ignored him.

Izaya's phone went off. So, he decided to ignore her as well in favor of texting back.

"Oh, well." Izaya stood, grabbing his coat off the back of the couch. "I'm going out for a bit. I'll call when I get back. You don't mind looking after them, right?" Izaya pointed to the infants.

Celty jolted. She quickly began to type. **[You can't just leave when you brought them here!]**

"I'll be back. There's something I need to attend to."

 **[Don't put your baggage on other people.]**

"Will it make you feel better if I tell you it's for these guys?" Izaya smiled.

Celty didn't reply.

"You won't have to do this for free, of course. I'll pay you ¥10,000 an hour for each mermaid."

Celty jolted. Then seemed to sigh as her helmet drooped. **[Fine.]**

Izaya smiled. He then waved before turning to head down the hall out the door.

* * *

Izaya didn't return until nearly six in the evening. The two babies were sleeping deep under the water of the tub, cuddling against each other when he walked through the door. Roppi was also sleeping, facing the back of the couch with a blanket over his body.

"How long have they been asleep?" Izaya whispered to Shinra.

"About two hours." Shinra whispered back.

"Hm."

Roppi immediately started to stir. He groaned and looked over his shoulder, only one eye opened to look at Izaya.

"Did I wake you?" Izaya asked.

Roppi put his fingers to his lips, closing his eyes and shaking his head. Izaya nodded. Roppi gestured for Izaya to come over. The raven obeyed and sat down by Roppi's stomach as the mermaid-turned-man rolled over on his side to face Izaya. He held his hands out, gesturing for Izaya to do so as well. Izaya obeyed. Roppi began to tap on Izaya's hand in Morse code, Izaya's mind moving as fast as it could to translate.

 ** _'…Where…did you…go?'_**

Izaya grabbed Roppi's hand and flipped it. He tapped on Roppi's palm.

 ** _'I put a tank in my house for the children.'_**

Roppi's eye widened. He seemed to convert the words almost as soon as Izaya tapped. Leading Izaya to believe this creature was fluent in Morse Code—which would make sense since under water, all one could hear is vibrations.

Roppi tapped. **_'Why?'_**

Izaya tapped. **_'I do not think you want to sleep in the warehouse while in human form. And we cannot leave the children alone. Who knows what kind of unsavory people could show up while we are in Shinjuku.'_**

 ** _'Shinjuku?'_**

 ** _'Yeah. I do not live in Ikebukuro.'_**

 ** _'Then… why buy a…warehouse…here?'_**

 ** _'Reasons. You will understand once you meet the other monster that inhabits this city.'_**

Roppi tilted his head in confusion.

 ** _'Just trust me.'_**

 ** _'I really…don't.'_**

Izaya chuckled. **_'Well, I do not think it is a good idea for me to leave you unattended in the warehouse while production is still underway. Hibiya and Tsuki would also suffer from all the loud noises.'_**

 ** _'Are they not…close to…being done…?'_**

 ** _'Not even close. It will take another three months to get it done.'_**

 ** _'But the…glass wall was…'_**

 ** _'They had the foundation up but that glass is not nearly strong enough to hold the amount of water that is needed to fill it. Also making sure there are not holes in the seams, getting the crane ready, getting the proper sizes for the floating plates, and then decorating the interior with what you would like. I am not sure if you would like sand or maybe a cave to sleep in. We will have to figure out which can be artificial and which will not be good for your health. You and I will have to converse and figure this out so I think it would be a good idea for you to come to my place for the researc—_**

Roppi tugged his hand away and grabbed Izaya's. **_'Even in…Morse…you talk too…much…'_**

Izaya held back a laugh. Roppi rolled his eyes but a smile crept across his lips.

 ** _'I would prefer you and the kids stay with me until the tank is done and the hydrocodone wears off.'_** Izaya continued. **_'I would rather not take the chance that someone unsightly tries to take you or the children.'_**

 ** _'I would…kill them…before…they touch…my kids…'_**

 ** _'You may not be able to stop them. Nanasaki had you for twelve years and spent a decent amount to 'take care of you','_** Izaya lifted his hands to display finger quotes then continued his furious tapping. **_'I would not think it is outside of his character to try and steal the children he helped create.'_** Izaya looked over at the tub. **_'And I do not think that is a risk you want to take.'_**

Roppi looked at his children. The fear and sorrow was obvious on his expression. Izaya's words hit home with him and without any confirmation, Roppi was convinced.

 ** _'…How can…you trust…me so…easily?'_** Roppi stared only at Izaya's hand, refusing to make eye contact.

Izaya smiled. **_'You could have killed me many times over now. I have been alone with you more than enough that if you wanted to kill me, you would have already.'_**

Roppi glowered.

 ** _'Also, I think we have a base understanding that I am your most prominent benefactor. Kill me and you screw yourself and your children.'_**

 ** _'…Not…necessarily…I could steal…your identity…to get me…and my kids to…the ocean.'_**

 ** _'And abandon the ones that are still on land?'_**

Roppi's eyes widened. He finally looked up at Izaya.

 ** _'You have been here for 12 years. I can only assume Nanasaki is the father of these ones and I can state with confidence that this probably is not the first birth you have had after the Puerto Rican.'_**

Roppi glowered.

 ** _'You don't have to talk about it now. But I think it would be in your best interest to keep me around. I have the best chance of finding those lost children of yours.'_**

Roppi didn't answer. He looked at Izaya's hand, refusing to look at Izaya's eyes again.

 ** _'I'm not worried.'_** Izaya tapped. ** _'If you kill me, you'll regret it the most.'_**

Roppi glared at Izaya, pulling back his lip in a snarl. **_'Your…confidence…is…annoying.'_**

Izaya's smile turned into a malicious grin. **_'I only speak the truth.'_**

Roppi pulled his hands away. He glared at Izaya with complete hate and he crossed his arms—it looked more like he was hugging himself, in Izaya's opinion. A growl rose in his throat. Izaya merely tilted his head, an 'innocent' smile on his face.

Roppi snorted at Izaya before putting his knees to his chest and hunching his head down. He wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his mouth into his sleeves.

"There's no need to get depressed." Izaya said, leaning back on his arms. "It's not like you'll be in danger with me. If anything, my house is the safest place for you."

Roppi just shook his head.

Izaya just chuckled. "As I stated before, I have no interest in monsters. On top of being a man, I don't find you sexually appealing. I'm not going to chain you in my basement and do explicit things to you, nor to the children. I'm not a pedophile, either."

 _"That's not the problem."_ Roppi mouthed.

"Then what's the problem?" Izaya scooted closer.

Roppi shimmied back, casting him a glare.

 _"I don't trust you."_ He mouthed.

"I don't trust you either. But unless you want me to get rid of you, I think I'm all you've got."

Roppi glowered.

"Would you rather I throw you out?" Izaya tilted his head. "I'm sure the Awakusu-kai could find some use for a monster that looks like a human who is as strong as Heiwajima Shizuo. Actually, that's a valid point."

Izaya leaned forward. Roppi cocked a brow as he leaned back. Izaya saw Hibiya and Tsuki stick their heads out of the water, both rubbing the sleep from their eyes.

"If you're that uncomfortable staying with me, then how about you earn your way? You can pretend to be a person just enough to get a job. Even without your voice, Shiki could use someone as strong as you. You can earn you keep until your tank is done."

 _"Hairy moles."_

Izaya cocked a brow. "Repeat that."

 _"Fair-y-moans."_

"Fairy moans?…Oh, pheromones!"

Roppi nodded.

"That's a valid point." Izaya leaned back. "Well, if you're willing to work then we can figure something out. Will that make you feel better?"

Roppi glowered.

"Would you rather I treat you like a human or like an animal? If being in a tank makes you more comfortable, then I'm not sure how much I should help you."

Roppi's eyes widened, his teeth clenching.

"After all, pup's get separated from their mother's all the time. If you want to be treated like a bitch then there's no reason for me to waste my efforts trying to find your sad lost children."

Roppi lunged forward as an inhuman hiss echoed throughout his throat. The mermaid grabbed Izaya by his shirt and looked no different than Heiwajima Shizuo as rage overtook his features. Izaya saw Celty manifest shadows while Shinra called out in surprise.

Roppi only held Izaya. He didn't make any attempt to hurt him, nor any more threatening noises. Merely glared at him as if his stare could kill.

"So, would you rather I treat you like a person, Roppi-chan? Would you like me to find your scattered children?" Izaya's eyes narrowed as his grin widened. "Or would you like to be my property until the day I die?"

Roppi clenched his teeth hard. Shark fangs cascaded over his human teeth. The smile never disappeared from Izaya's face.

 _"I don't like you."_ Roppi mouthed.

"You don't have to like me to use my resources."

Roppi's lips pulled back in yet another snarl.

The mermaid then snorted and let Izaya go. _"Fine."_

He turned away from the raven in favor of paying attention to his children. He got off the couch and knelt down in front of them as Izaya fixed his shirt.

"Well then," He looked up at the owners of the apartment. "Shinra, you mind giving me a copy of the X-Rays—Hibiya's and Roppi's. And the report of what you found with Roppi's physical. Courier-san, I require your services, as well."


	8. Chapter 8

Izaya unlocked his apartment door.

"Namie-san, I'm back."

There was no response. Izaya didn't know if she was ignoring him or if she was already gone but he decided not to question. He walked in, took off his shoes, and stepped into the hallway. Roppi followed. However, he couldn't untie his combat boots as he was holding the tote filled with water, so he walked in without a care.

"Pause, pause." Izaya turned and stopped the raven.

Roppi cocked a brow but did as told.

"Don't tread dirt into the house. I'll untie your shoes."

Roppi's cocked brow rose even higher. But he just shrugged and stuck his foot out to Izaya. Izaya chuckled before kneeling down. He grabbed the shoelaces and pulled. He pulled the boot off and put it in the genkan. Roppi put his socked foot down and lifted his other shoe up.

"You have quite the balance, Roppi."

Roppi just shrugged as Izaya untied and tugged the other boot off. He tossed it into the genkan and stood.

Izaya turned and headed into the living room, followed closely by Roppi. He looked over to see Namie was indeed gone. He saw a stack of files on her desk with a small white notecard on top. Izaya walked over to investigate.

 _'The files are organized. I went home.' -Namie_

Izaya chuckled. He then turned to Roppi.

"Follow me this way." Izaya gestured to the mermaid as he walked by his desk—putting the files Shinra had given him on said desk—to the stairs.

Roppi followed without pause. The two went up the steps. Izaya opened the first door at the top of the stairs.

"This'll be your guys' room."

The room had a twin-sized bed directly in the middle of it with a nightstand and a lamp on top next to it. An eight-by-fourteen tank was pressed against the adjacent wall with a small step-ladder in front of it. There were some file cabinets across the room from the bed. Roppi wasn't sure what those were for but he understood everything else.

"I've got a dresser on its way." Izaya said, looking back at Roppi. "If you don't mind, I'd like your help getting these filing cabinets downstairs."

Roppi walked over to the tank and put the tub down. He pulled the lid off and immediately, Hibiya stuck his head up.

"Iza!"

Tsuki stuck his head up a moment later but said nothing.

Roppi then turned to Izaya and gestured for him to come over. Izaya hesitated for a moment, his mind quickly swirling with scenario's where Roppi killed him and fed him to his children. He walked over, nonetheless. Roppi reached his hands out and grabbed Izaya's, turning it palm side up.

He began to tap on his hand.

 ** _'What…is in…the…files?'_**

"Oh, that's just information I've collected over the years. This room was their storage. I don't like leaving them in the open for anyone to get into."

Roppi nodded and tapped. **_'You…can…leave…them in…here. I do not…have a…reason…to…mess with…them…'_**

"Yeah, but if Hibiya or Tsukishima get too rambunctious and splash, I don't want them to get ruined."

Roppi pointed to the far wall behind the door. He pointed to the files then back to that spot. He then grabbed Izaya's hand and tapped.

 ** _'They…will not…get wet…there…They will…still…be safe…in…here. I have…no…interest…in your…files…'_**

"No, no. That's not the problem. My secretary will be coming in here to get files every once in a while and I don't want her to see the children. She's kind of like Shinra, as in she likes to experiment on unnatural things. If I tell her not to, she'll listen. She wouldn't want me to dock her pay, after all. But I would rather avoid the subject all together."

Understanding crossed Roppi's face as he nodded. _"Okay."_ He mouthed.

Roppi then turned and went back to his children's side. Hibiya reached up and did grabby-hands at him. The adult mermaid reached down and lifted the baby up. He let Hibiya drip for a moment to get most of the water off then walked over to a step-ladder. He stepped up so he was overlooking the tank and gently put Hibiya in. The baby immediately swam to the bottom of the tank, spinning gleefully as he explored all the space he had.

Roppi stepped down and reached for Tsukishima next. The blond toddler made no noise as he was lifted out of the water. He did the same with Hibiya, holding him over the tub to drip dry for a moment then walked over to the step-ladder and put Tsuki in the tank.

Hibiya immediately swam to his sibling and pulled on his hand so the blond went under the water. Roppi scrutinized the golden raven but Hibiya made no sign of bullying his brother so he let it slide.

"So, you mind helping me move these?" Izaya said, putting his hands on the cabinets.

Roppi nodded.

But Hibiya immediately swam to the surface and yelled. The two adults looked at him.

"Iza!"

"What?"

"Iza!" He started gnashing his teeth.

"Um…" Izaya didn't not like the gesture.

Roppi walked over as he pulled out his phone. He typed up a message and tossed the phone to the informant. Izaya caught it and looked at it.

 **[Hes hungry]**

Roppi stepped up the ladder.

"I can get them some food." Izaya said. "I have some pasta's and chicken in the fridge."

Roppi shook his head. He then reached his hand up and put his mouth around the side of it. He bit down hard then pulled his hand away. Blood pooled from the shark bite.

"What are you doing?" Izaya cocked a brow.

Roppi rolled up his sleeve and put his injury out to Hibiya. The baby guffawed happily before grabbed the adults hand. He put his tiny mouth over as much as the wound as he could and began sucking.

"They drink blood?"

Roppi reached out for the phone. Izaya handed it back. He tried to type with one hand but struggled to reach his thumb across the wide touch screen while still holding it in the same hand. So, he put it on the edge of the tank and began typing. Izaya did not find that a very smart idea but said nothing. Roppi picked the device up once he was done and held it out to the informant.

 **[Her Aphrodite mermaids dont produs milk.]**

Izaya cocked a brow. He took a guess 'Her Aphrodite' was his attempt to write 'hermaphrodite'. He looked up at Roppi.

"So, they drink blood instead?"

Roppi nodded. He brought the phone back up and struggled to reach the buttons. He showed it back to Izaya.

 **[Li ke leechses]**

"How long will they feed like that?"

Roppi brought the phone back up. He put the phone on the edge—

And put it on ever so cock-eyed so it tilted. Roppi struggled to catch it but he failed and the device fell in the water. Izaya stiffened and his eyes widened as he realized what Roppi did.

"You…"

Roppi mouthed something as he glared down into the tank. The phone thunked as it hit the bottom. Tsukishima swam over and grabbed the device with his tiny hands. The blond baby swam back up and breeched the surface. He held it back out to Roppi.

Roppi looked a bit begrudged as he took the device back. The screen was black and no amount of pushing the power button would turn it out. The adult mermaid looked over at Izaya.

 _"Sorry."_ He silently said.

Izaya walked over and grabbed the device. He gave Roppi a glower.

 _"I'm sorry."_

"You know, I knew that what you were doing was stupid. But I had faith you had faster reflexes."

Roppi glared. _"Sorry."_

Izaya let out a heavy sigh. "I'll order another one tomorrow. And probably a waterproof phone case."

Roppi glanced away with a slight blush on his cheeks and a glower.

Izaya let out another sigh. "Oh well. It's fine. It's easily replaceable."

Roppi didn't look at him as he was busy trying to get Hibiya to scoot over enough for Tsuki to eat too. However, even moved, there wasn't much room. So, Roppi tugged Hibiya off his hand and brought it back up. He bit his pinky so it began to bleed. He put his hand back down.

Hibiya put his mouth over the pinky, which made Roppi glower. He went to pull Hibiya off but Tsukishima swam around his sibling and began sucking on the other injury. Roppi stared at his children then let out a sigh of defeat and said something with his empty voice.

"So, I'm going to let you move the filing cabinets as compensation for my phone." Izaya said, drawing the adult raven's attention back. "We'll…I'll order take out as dinner since we forgot your take-out at Shinra's. What do you want?"

* * *

"Hello, Orihara-san." A man said, bowing before Izaya. "It is nice to meet you."

"Hello, Minigawa-san. It's nice to finally meet you as well." Izaya smiled at the man as he gestured for him to come further in. "Please, come sit. Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please. That'd be nice."

"Namie-san, would you mind fetching that for me?"

Namie stood from her desk to do as such—having the blank expression she usually had when there was a client in the house—as the two men went over to the sofa. They sat down, Minigawa sitting on one couch while Izaya sat on the adjacent sofa.

"So, Minigawa-san, from what I understand from our phone call, your son has disappeared recently."

"Step _son's_ actually."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, last night, he broke in while I was sleeping and took my other son."

"Oh, I see." Izaya grabbed his laptop off of the coffee table and set it on his lap. He began to type this new information down on a word document.

"So, um…" Minigawa started, looking ever-so-slightly nervous. "Might-might I ask how you found out about my first son leaving? I didn't want to make it public that he was gone…"

Izaya just smiled. "Minigawa-san, getting information others want to keep secret is what I do."

Minigawa didn't answer. Izaya smiled, feeling superior as it was obvious this man was out of his element.

"So, from what I have on your children, Shitsuo ran away about two weeks ago." Izaya typed as he spoke. "And now Sakuraya has also run away."

Minigawa jolted. "You…know their names?"

"Of course."

Namie finally returned and put a tea cup on the coffee table. The stranger didn't reach for it as he openly displayed how nervous he was.

"There's no need to be so worried, Minigawa-san." Izaya smiled. "My resources shall be quite useful to you."

Minigawa didn't respond. However, he nodded. His hands were clenched against his knees.

"Now then, would you mind updating me on what happened yesterday?" Izaya asked.

"Um…could…could you tell me first, how did you find me?" Minigawa barely made eye contact with Izaya. "I mean, how did you even find my phone number?"

"Again, Minigawa-san, I have many resources and am quite skilled in getting this kind of information."

'But, I mean, you can't have just chosen a person at random and decided to research them and find out their problems. You contacted me, after all. So, you…you must want something…"

Izaya looked at him. Then chuckled. "I was asked not to reveal who dropped your information on my desk."

"Wha—"

"But off the books, Nanasaki-san told me of your son's disappearance. At the time, you had a broken leg so you couldn't go find him yourself and you didn't want to go public. He suggested your situation to me so I gave you a call to see if you were interested in my services. Now that Sakuraya has also gone missing, I think you need my abilities, unless you wish to go to the police."

Minigawa seemed to instantly relax at the mention of Nanasaki, despite Izaya knowing that they hadn't spoken in nearly eight years. The raven smiled, reassuringly. Izaya had taken a slight shot in the dark by looking into Minigawa. The only connection this man had to the ambitious business tycoon who gave Izaya his mermaid was one business endeavor about nine years ago. After looking into the logistics of said endeavor, there didn't seem to be much of a transaction and more of Minigawa being generous and funding Nanasaki with a lump sum of money and business revenues. So, either they were friends from a time Izaya couldn't find or Nanasaki gave Minigawa something under-the-table.

Like two children who suddenly showed up in Minigawa's life a year later.

"Shall we continue?" Izaya asked.

"Yeah." Minigawa was much more comfortable now.

Izaya smiled. "So, what happened yesterday?"

"Well, as you know, Shitsuo ran away two weeks ago. I did have a broken leg but I was scheduled to get my cast removed a few days after Shitsuo left. I was given morphine pills to help me sleep so when I took them, I was out like a light. He decided to run away while I was sleeping and he stole my morphine, for some reason. I woke up because I had to use the restroom and I heard something weird. He was…in the process of convincing Sakuraya to leave, as well, when I came down. He looked at me and ran out the front door but I couldn't chase after him.

"Then yesterday," he continued, "while I was at work, Shitsuo came back. I have security camera's in my house and a silent alarm system. It notifies me when someone opens the front door. It wasn't' a break in so the police weren't contacted by the alarm, but every time the door is opened during 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., I get a text saying so. The door was opened at 3:15p.m."

"May I see the message to verify?"

"Yeah."

Minigawa pulled out his phone and went to his messages. Then, still holding the phone, showed it to Izaya. Indeed, there was a text message saying that at 3:16 p.m. the front door was left ajar.

"I took a thirty-minute lunch break and went home. When I got back, Sakuraya was gone and the safe in my bedroom was broken into."

"Broken into as in he had the combination or he busted it open?"

"Does that matter?"

"Yes."

"…It was…um, busted open."

"Okay." Izaya typed that down. "Continue."

"Um, that's about it."

"How much was taken?"

"¥200,000."

Izaya nodded before grabbing his phone.

 **[Hey, Roppi-chan, what does morphine do for your kind?]**

He put his phone under his leg so that Minigawa couldn't see it if it went off.

"Why would they run away?" Izaya asked, "Do you know?"

"No, not at all. We were happy. Sure, we got into arguments a few times but it was nothing major, just things like limiting TV time and cutting their allowances. Nothing really particular."

"You gave them allowances even though they are in their twenties?"

Minigawa stiffened for a moment. "Well, they didn't have jobs."

"Did they not want to work?"

"No, they did but um…well, I kinda spoiled them and they were homeschooled. I think that ended up giving them developmental problems cuz, um, Shitsuo couldn't hold down a job and Sakuraya was very particular. He only wanted to work at a garden or flower shop and when he didn't get hired, he decided he'd just wait until he can put his resume in again."

"Okay," Izaya typed.

 ***PING***

Izaya checked his phone. **[Dont kno, never had any personally. I herd it can last for a month but the leg pain lasts for a week or two weeks somethin like that. It was either oxy or morphine but one of them gave us our predominant gender. Like if I took it—since my top have is a guy, Id sprout a dick.]**

 ***PING***

 **[But again, I dont know if its oxy or morphine. Ive only ever had aspirin and hydros.]**

 **[Okay, thank you]** Izaya sent the message and put his phone back under his leg.

"So, as far as you know," Izaya said, "they had no reason to want to leave home, especially not forcefully like this?"

"No, there should be no reason!" Minigawa called with slight anger before he seemed to gain some remorse. "I'm…not sure what I did wrong. But I'm sure if they came home, we could talk and figure something out."

"I see. What can you tell me about them?"

"Well…heh, I could talk for hours if you let me."

"Hm, how about I'll ask and you answer?"

"That's fine."

"Alright, let's start with Shitsuo. What is his ethnicity?"

"Asian."

"Hair color."

"Blond."

"Natural or dyed?"

"Natural."

"Is that something from his mother sides?"

"Yeah."

"Is he adopted?"

"…Why do you ask?"

"Well, they are in their mid-twenties but from what Nanasaki said, you've only had them live with you for eight years. What's more, natural blond isn't a common trait for Asians."

Minigawa fell quiet. "…Yeah, they're adopted."

"So, you wouldn't have any medical records from their childhood."

"No, I don't."

"So, if they had incurable genetic diseases, you wouldn't know."

"…No…"

Izaya nodded. "How old is Shitsuo, specifically?"

"Um…twenty-five."

"Eye color."

"Brown."

"How tall is he?"

"About six foot."

"How heavy?"

"Around 150 lbs."

"He's a boy, right?"

"Yes."

"Does he have any interests?"

"A few. He likes the Victorian era, he started reading a lot of books from that time. His favorite is The Portrait of Dorian Gray. His favorite animal is dogs. Favorite color is white. Favorite food is Peking Duck—they both had pretty expensive tastes. He likes the fine arts and cleanliness. He showers every day and cleans the entire house once a day when he really doesn't need to. His favorite TV channels are the architecture, art exhibit display, cooking, and the nature channel. His hobby is cooking—he spends a lot of time in the kitchen making stuff he thinks Sakuraya will like. He spends a lot of time with Sakuraya, like, he caters to him. He makes every meal for him and does his laundry and even washes him. It's almost like he's a butler."

"Hence why you named him that."

"Exactly! Wait…"

Izaya looked at him with a slight grin. Minigawa's complexion drained for a moment.

"I didn't mean it like that." Minigawa quickly recanted. "I mean, that was his name when I got him so I just thought it was fitting, nothing more."

"Of course. It's just a happy coincidence that his name is Shitsuo and he has that characteristic." Izaya didn't miss Minigawa's use of the word 'got' instead of 'adopted'.

"Y-yeah."

Izaya smiled kindly. "So, what does he dislike, particularly?"

"…Um, well, he doesn't like dirt. I can only assume he doesn't like dirt because he's always helping out Sakuraya unless he's gardening. And he doesn't like heat. He's always complaining if the AC isn't on full blast. He really dislikes monkeys. No reason in particular, he just saw them on the nature channel and said they were freaky looking."

"Okay, what is his behavior like, before this incident happened?"

"When he first started living with me, he was extremely well-behaved and well-mannered. Didn't talk back or do anything naughty. He spent a lot of time to himself or was always with Sakuraya. Honestly, this rebellious phase only came around a few months back. We started getting into a lot of fights and I had to start disciplining him. Maybe that's why he decided to leave."

"Mayhaps."

A pop-up showed up on Izaya's laptop. The laptop was put on silent so Minigawa was none the wiser. Izaya's download was complete. The informant used the mousepad to make a copy of the download and moved it into a locked folder. He then put the original copy into a different locked folder. The last thing he did was email the original copy to his own email.

"Alright, sorry for the wait." Izaya smiled up at him. "I had a lot to put down. Was Shitsuo on any medications?"

"No." Minigawa shook his head.

" _Any_ medications. Like aspirin or Tylenol, did he take anything like that regularly?"

"Um, he took Aspirin regularly. So, did Sakuraya."

"Did he get headaches often or was it just a dull pain?"

"Um, his um, he had knee pain a lot. To the point where he couldn't sleep. I didn't want to get him anything stronger in case he became addicted so I just stocked up on aspirin."

"Okay."

 ** _'Knee pain, he says.'_** Izaya kept himself from chuckling.

"Besides cooking, did he do any other activities?" Izaya asked. "Like swimming or running?"

"He liked to swim. They both did. I had to install an indoor pool because they were constantly asking to be taken to the public pools."

"Alright, last few questions. What time was Shitsuo the most active?"

"Um…he was up really early. Usually, he'd be up and ready by six or seven in the morning. He'd be doing chores until noon then he'd start to slow. He usually went to bed early too. Around eight or nine at night."

"Alrighty." Izaya finished typing and smiled at Minigawa. "What was he wearing the last time you saw him?"

"He was wearing black kaki's and a white long sleeve button down. Oh, and black shoes."

Izaya nodded. He then saved the document and made multiple copies. He put those copies in the locked folders from earlier and sent the document to his email, as well.

"Okay, on to Saku—"

Izaya's words paused as he heard the door above his head open. He looked over his shoulder as he heard someone walk down the steps. Namie also looked up, a slight look of confusion on her face as she thought there was no one else in the house.

"Hello, Roppi-chan." Izaya said with a smile. "I'm with a client right now. Would you mind…"

Izaya's words trailed off when he saw a lot of Roppi's thighs. The raven had on Izaya's fur-trimmed coat—when he got that, Izaya didn't know as he was for certain he didn't leave it in Roppi's room last night. The coat was hanging off the mermaids' shoulders and zipped up as far as it could go, acting like a crop top. It was just long enough to cover most of his thighs. Which made it look like he was wearing a fur-trimmed halter top dress.

Roppi looked at the mentioned client with a cocked brow. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He typed something up. He walked over and showed it to Izaya.

 **[Im hungri gonna get something to eat what do you have?]**

"There's some fruit in the fridge and some left over dinner from last night. Also some chicken."

Roppi nodded and pocketed his phone. He walked past Minigawa without a glance. Minigawa followed him with his eyes, completely ogling the red-eyed raven.

"Roppi-chan, do you have clothes on under that?" Izaya asked.

Roppi looked over his shoulder at Izaya, now standing in the entryway to the kitchen. He pulled up the hem of his coat to display he was wearing boxer briefs, at least.

"Do you have a bra on?"

Roppi took on an incredulously judging and confused expression, as if what Izaya said was astronomically stupid. He then flipped him off and continued on his journey to the fridge. Izaya chuckled.

 ** _'I'm going to need to get him his own coat if he wants to walk around like that often.'_**

"Please excuse my house guest." Izaya said. "He lacks etiquette. Shall we continue?"

Minigawa was still looking at Roppi, who was bent forward looking through the refrigerator. Izaya looked at his client, then back at Roppi. And for a brief moment, Izaya couldn't pull his eyes away. Particularly, he couldn't stop staring at the part of Roppi's body that was jutted out, showing a little bit of his underwear over his rump. But Izaya quickly realized he was staring and turned his attention back to Minigawa.

"Minigawa-san."

The man jolted and looked back at Izaya.

"I know he's a bit provocative but I must ask you don't stare at my house guest. I'll make sure he wears clothes next time, please excuse him."

"Oh, no, I'm um, I'm sorry. I shouldn't stare."

Izaya smiled. "Shall we continue? Let's move on to Sakuraya."

"Um…" Minigawa snuck a glanced at Roppi before casting his eyes back down to his hands on his thighs. "Right. Um…well, Sakuraya, he has black hair and um…" He glanced back at Roppi.

Izaya tried not to show he was getting annoyed.

 ** _'Don't ogle t other people's lovers, you pig. No wonder your mermaids left you.'_**

Izaya paused.

 ** _'Wait…why'd my mind go there? No, not lover. Not lover. Roppi isn't my…'_**

Izaya looked up at Roppi. And for a split second, a single thought crossed him mind.

 ** _'But I could make him my lover.'_**

And that thought took Izaya by surprise. His eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. He had his normal façade back in place before Minigawa even knew there was something wrong. He then grabbed his phone out from under his leg.

 **[Is your pheromones stronger after giving birth?]** He sent the message.

Roppi's phone went off in a few seconds. He put down the grapes he was plucking and pulled his phone out. He stared for a moment, then looked over his shoulder. He gave Minigawa the stink eye before facing forward. He then touched the screen a few times, pocketed his phone and started plucking grapes again.

Izaya's phone went off. **[Should be, yeah. Ill hide out in my room.]**

Roppi put the grapes back in the fridge and picked up his bowl of fruit. Without making eye contact with Minigawa, he walked past and went back up the stairs. The door closed louder than Izaya thought was necessary.

Minigawa looked at Izaya, sharing the same expression Izaya would expect to see on a horny teenager when they spot a super model on the street. "She was very beautiful. Who _was_ that?"

Izaya chuckled. "I don't mean to disappoint you but Roppi-chan is actually a man."

"He's as beautiful as Sakuraya."

Izaya smiled kindly. **_'He all but confirmed he sexually assaulted Sakuraya with that statement. If he was acting like that just from a brief meeting with Roppi then I can only imagine what must have happened to this Sakuraya. Maybe even Shitsuo.'_**

"Shall we continue, Minigawa-san?"

"Oh, yes! Please excuse me! S-s-so, Sakuraya. Yeah, Sakuraya has on a white yukata with a pink-and-white haori, from what the security footage showed. He really likes traditional Japanese style. He even wears tabi's and listens to Enka. He has black hair and pink eyes—they're a genetic defect, I think, that's what…the adoption agency told me about his eyes. They're all natural."

"Okay." Izaya typed everything said. "How tall is he?"

"Maybe 5'6". And he's about 120 lbs."

"Is he the same age as Shitsuo?"

"No, he's a year older."

"Okay. What does he like?"

"He's really into gardening. He loves being outside in the sun and he likes getting his hands dirty. He also likes reading, he reads a lot of books. His favorite animal is bees; favorite color is cherry blossom pink; and favorite food is a chicken salad. He loves flowers, especially cherry blossoms, and he shares with Shitsuo a taste for the fine arts, animal TV programs and nature TV programs. He also likes the gardening channel."

"Dislikes?"

"He really hates the moon. I don't know why but he's said a few different times that he doesn't like the moon. It's so weird, isn't it? That someone wouldn't like the moon. It makes no sense but he's so cute so it's okay. He also hates wasps. And he really dislikes being separated from Shitsuo but when Shitsuo misbehaves, I had to send Shitsuo to his room alone. Of course, Sakuraya never pitched a fit. He was always so quiet and calm and reserved. He'd sit in one spot for hours on end, you could paint him he'd be so still. He never _ever_ misbehaved."

"Was he more outspoken when he was with Shitsuo?"

"…Yeah, he was. I think I made him a little nervous, like how you can talk up a storm with your sibling but you couldn't say the same thing to your dad. It's the same concept. He was always really shy around me."

"Has that behavior changed in the last few months, like Shitsuo's?"

"Well…actually now that you mention him, he was a bit more quiet than usual recently. He hadn't spent as much time in the garden as he usually did. I thought that was weird but I just assumed he may have been trying to avoid wasps since there are a lot out this time of year. He wouldn't look me in the eye, too. He kept staring at his feet when I would talk to him."

"I see."

Izaya typed. **[Showed several signs of depression. Most-likely caused by unspoken abuse]**

"I think it all had something to do with Sakuraya being sick." Minigawa stated.

"Sick?" Izaya asked.

"Yeah, I only saw it a few times but I've caught Sakuraya puking in the early mornings. He and I usually got up around the same time, 9 a.m. But sometimes, he'd be in the bathroom before me, puking. He said he'd was fine but when he went to Shitsuo, he'd be crying. I didn't know what to do so I just gave him some anti-nausea and aspirin. He'd barely get out of bed and would spend all day just lounging around."

"…I see."

Izaya wrote down. **[Potentially pregnant.]**

"Alright." Izaya smiled at him. "I think I have all the information I need to start my search. Do you have any questions?"

"…Um, yes, actually. Um, how much do you require as payment?"

"I require no payment. This is a favor asked from Nanasaki. I owed him one, so I will do my best to help you, free of charge."

Minigawa's eyes widened. "That's so generous!"

Izaya nodded. "Think nothing of it. But just remember, I wasn't supposed to tell you Nanasaki asked this of me. Let's keep that information a secret for now."

"O-okay, no problem. So, how long do you think it'll take you to find them?"

"Potentially, it may take a few weeks, especially if they keep moving around. But rest assured, by the end of the month, they'll be safe."

"Are you serious?"

"Of course." Izaya put his laptop down—facing the screen away—and stood. He held his hand out in a handshake. "Leave it all to me, Minigawa-san, I'll have them back where they belong in no time."

"Yes, thank you very much." Minigawa shook Izaya's hand vigorously.

Izaya then led the man to the door.

"By the way," Minigawa said, looking a little sheepish. "I would like to say that your…house guest is very beautiful. You're a lucky man to have caught such a wonder."

Izaya tilted his head as he held his smile. "You misunderstand, Minigawa. He is nothing more than a friend."

"I'd suggest not letting that be the end of it. You should claim him before someone snatches him from you."

Izaya hesitated with a response. "…I'll keep that in mind."

With a happy smile, Minigawa nodded. He then bowed to Izaya, said good-bye and left the informants establishment.

Once Izaya closed the door, he let the smile drop and turned back to the living room. He stretched him arms above his head as he walked, heading to the couch as he let out a sigh. He picked up his phone and went to Roppi's tab.

 **[I'll have to ask that you don't walk around naked during the daytime. Namie-san is here and we have clients going in an out all day. I'd rather not turn my back and have a client try to force themselves on you in that slit second.]**

He pocketed his phone and grabbed his laptop.

"What are you scheming now?" Namie asked.

Izaya looked over his shoulder at her and smiled. "What do you mean?'

"Oh please, don't try and tell me you're helping that man out of the good of your heart. We both know that doesn't exist."

"How cold, Namie-san. I believe I've always had a soft spot for humans." Izaya walked over to his desk and sat down, putting his laptop down and plugging it back in to the wall outlet.

"Your soft spot is revolting."

Izaya chuckled.

"What's so special about this Sakuraya and Shitsuo?"

"You won't need to worry about it. This is a personal vendetta so I you don't need to get involved."

"Does it have something to do with that house guest of yours?"

Izaya grinned. "Who knows."

Namie narrowed her eyes. "Is there a particular reason the _both_ of you started staring at him like a piece of meat?"

"Eh?" Izaya looked at her in confusion. "I wasn't staring at Roppi-chan."

"Yes, you were." Namie then smiled. "It's the first time I've seen you look at anyone like that. Have you fallen in love?"

Izaya laughed a little louder than was needed. "Come on, Namie-san, that is ludicrous! I love all humans, equally. He's no exception."

Namie didn't seem to be convinced as she still had that smirk on her lips. However, Izaya allotted to ignoring her.

 ** _'I need to be cautious.'_** Izaya thought, **_'Roppi's pheromones are starting to affect me.'_**

"Who is that man?" Namie asked.

Izaya looked up at Namie. "Who, Minigawa?"

"No, your 'house guest'."

"Oh, um, his name's Hachimenroppi. He'll be staying with me for a few months while his place is under renovations. I'll make sure he wears clothes from now on. Today is his first day here and he tends to do things his way."

"That sounds like the complete opposite of the type of person you like having around you. Why are you letting him stay here?"

"That's something you don't need to worry about."

Namie glowered.

Izaya only grinned. "Don't worry. I'll make sure he doesn't bother you. So long as you don't go into his room, he shouldn't give you a problem."

"He doesn't seem normal."

"He isn't normal. But again, he won't bother you. You can even get him to start helping you if you so desire. Just don't work him too hard."

Namie cocked a brow.

"Here," Izaya reached into his desk and pulled out a folder. "Go through these bank statements. Mark anything that seems a bit out of the norm, any lump sum withdrawals that don't seem normal. If there's anything about water or aquarium supplies, mark those, as well."

He held the folder out to her. Namie took it and immediately started going to work without complaint—although she did seem a little bit peeved as Izaya used no subtly to disengage the conversation.

With Namie now off his back, Izaya focused on the notes he had taken on Sakuraya and Shitsuo. He decided to ignore the small growing desire that swelled in his chest. The desire to go see what Roppi was doing upstairs. He didn't want to think about how Roppi was most-likely bare on his bed, being bored. Or how Izaya could give him something to do. Something that involved skin-on-skin contact.

No, Izaya didn't want to think of that at all. It wasn't in his nature to be explicitly sexually active and he didn't want that to change all because of an inhuman creature. Izaya was calm. Izaya was collected. And no way was a mermaid going to change that now.

* * *

 **Btw, this is something I forgot to mention.**

 **Roppi's fin is black. Hibiya's is orange and Tsukishima's is red.**

 **Again, this fic is really spur-of-the-moment.**

 **But on a different note, my archiveofourown is up and running. I'll be putting some of the stories on here over there and I think I'm going to move this fic over to archive indefinitely. It doesn't seem like many people have an interest in this fic here on FF so I don't think it'll really be missed. It'll also give me a chance to revamp and put in proper details without having to tell everyone to reread certain chapters cuz I changed something.**

 **I'm not sure yet. I might just be too lazy to take it down or I'll move it archive. Either or way, it won't make a huge difference. Unless it will, let me know in the reviews.**

 **Archive name is Kittycatkyla23 if you're interested (FF doesn't allow links to be put down, sorry about that.)**

 **Thanks for reading. Don't forget to review.**

 **KCK**


	9. Chapter 9

"Roppi-chan, could you put these files in chronological order? After that, alphabetize them."

Roppi nodded and grabbed the stack. The mute raven sat down on the floor in front of Izaya's desk so the informant couldn't see him and began doing the task asked of him.

"You can sit on the couch and use the coffee table." Izaya said.

Roppi's phone was tossed onto Izaya's desk, hitting the wood with a clatter. Izaya grabbed the device to look at it.

 **[Dont want to]**

Izaya chuckled. "Okay."

Izaya tossed the phone back over the desk. He heard the device give a meaty thunk. His brows rose.

"Did I hit you?" Izaya stood to look over the wooden furniture.

Roppi was rubbing his head. He looked over his shoulder and glared at Izaya.

Izaya chuckled. "I didn't mean to, if it's any consolation."

Roppi glowered at him. He then turned and grabbed a paperclip from the files, pulling it out the papers. Izaya cocked a brow.

Roppi flicked the paperclip at Izaya. It moved so fast, the informant didn't even register that's what Roppi did until he felt pain in between his eyes. Izaya recoiled and held his head.

"Ow!"

Roppi chuckled. Izaya heard him make the guttural noise. He also heard Namie hold back a laugh. Izaya rubbed the spot in pain, casting a glare at Roppi under his hand.

Izaya took his hand away. "Did you leave a red mark?"

Roppi looked at him and broke out in silent laughter as he nodded.

Izaya grumbled as he opened his desk. He grabbed a mirror and pulled it out, pointing it towards his face. He did in fact have a red mark right in between his eyes. He glowered at his appearance.

Roppi's phone was then placed on his desk. He leaned forward slightly to look at it.

 **[Fuck with me. I dare you.]**

"Well, aren't you being volatile." Izaya glowered at Roppi but he couldn't stop the smile the crept across his lips. "You want to fight?"

Roppi grabbed his phone, typed, then held it back out to Izaya. **[Bring it!]**

Izaya chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Maybe next time, Roppi-chan."

Roppi chuckled and sat back down. Namie was trying to conceal her smile at her desk as she typed away on her laptop. Izaya decided not to comment on it as he put the mirror back in his desk. He rubbed the spot on his forehead one more time before returning to his own work.

It had been nearly a week since Roppi and his children began to live with Izaya. Things had surprisingly been going decent for them. Roppi didn't walk around nearly naked anymore, thankfully. However, that entaled him having to borrow Izaya's wardrobe, which consisted mostly of long sleeves and tight pants, until Izaya could take him clothes shopping. The mermaid managed to find some tank tops in Izaya's closet—Izaya had forgotten he had those, honestly—and those seemed to be his clothing of choice. The informant got a feeling Roppi didn't like wearing clothes. It would make sense that a creature of the sea wouldn't have a huge affiliation for wearing fabric that restricted ones movement and became heavy when wet.

Roppi, for the most part, did what he wanted. Some days he'd stay in his room, only coming out to eat or go to the bathroom. Other days, he'd spend the entire afternoon with Izaya, just sitting over his shoulder and inquiring on what he was doing. Then, seemingly out of the blue, the mermaid-turned-man began helping out around the house. The fact that he was once a caretaker showed as he had no qualms making Izaya meals, doing the dishes, the laundry, vacuuming, even making Izaya's bed and cleaning his bathroom as well as the guess bathroom. Regardless of what Roppi was doing, he seemed to constantly be keeping himself busy. On the days he did come down to hang out with Izaya or do chores, every few hours he'd go back up to his room—most-likely to check on the babies or feed them, probably both.

Once Namie left, Izaya would also spend time with the infants. Hibiya would pitch a fit otherwise. The last time Izaya went straight to bed after Namie left, everyone in the household heard it as he screamed and splashed and yelled out "Iza! Iza!" Roppi gave the baby firm discipline for his actions but that didn't stop Izaya from listening to Hibiya's demands and coming to visit him. The informant made that one of his nightly habits.

One thing Izaya noticed was that Tsukishima seemed to avoid Izaya for a reason the informant didn't know why. He was confident the blond mermaid would warm up to him as time passed—hopefully—but as of right now, he was being extremely shy and quiet whenever Izaya came to give them attention. It was almost like Hibiya was Izaya's child while Tsukishima's was Hachimenroppi's. The two adults had talked about that concept—as it was obvious Hibiya was far more spoiled than Tsukishima was because of the attention and Izaya would like to spoil Tsukishima too—but Roppi dismissed it as a phase. They weren't old enough to understand much so once they get past the three-month-mark, Tsukishima should be more sociable and Hibiya should be less demanding. Izaya was more than certain that wouldn't be the case—as you need to teach your children to act a certain way, not expect them to naturally act as such—which made Izaya suspect this might be his first time actually raising children.

Of course, that was a subject Izaya hadn't brought up to the mermaid. He knew that may be a sensitive subject so he'd been avoiding it for as long as he could.

Izaya's plan was to find this Sakuraya and Shitsuo first and reunite the broken family. Izaya would display his skills as an informant with the minimal amount of information he had. Roppi would be impressed and know that Izaya was serious with the task he nominated himself for. After that, Izaya could ask the impertinent questions without Roppi getting defensive and putting up walls.

At least, that was what Izaya hypothesized.

The informant currently had his laptop sitting on his thighs so that no one could look over his shoulders as he watched the surveillance footage from Minigawa's house. He had downloaded the files days ago, when Minigawa first showed up, and had watched them several times over to try and figure out more about these boys. He already knew why they left. There were several clips of Minigawa forcing himself onto Sakuraya and one where he forced himself on Shitsuo. Both were in human forms, Izaya knowing that they had been on aspirin—the poor boys. However, for reasons that Izaya didn't have the information on, Sakuraya never tried to kill him, nor did Shitsuo despite both being unchained and not sedated. There had to be an underlining reason why these mermaids who could easily snap steel in half would not kill someone so weak. Which was why Izaya was rewatching the videos, hoping to find said reason.

So far, he'd come across nothing of value. Shitsuo and Minigawa got into a few yelling matched—the surveillance videos were silent so he didn't know why they were fighting, but he had a guess it was because of Sakuraya—in which what Minigawa told Izaya was discipline was actually torture. He had forced Shitsuo to return to his mermaid form and put him in a seven-by-four tank no different than the one Roppi had originally been trapped in at Nanasaki's. In the tank, there was only just enough water for Shitsuo to get his gills wet and he was then placed in front of a window. From 10 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon—the hottest time of the day—Shitsuo was left in that hot-box under the unmerciful sunlight.

It was always amusing to hear someone explain a situation away as simple family drama when in actuality it was inhumane abuse. The capacity for humans to lie is one of the many things that made humans so interesting. Izaya couldn't help but smile at the thought.

The reason the boys left was indeed obvious. What wasn't so obvious was why they didn't try to defend themselves. That was something that may not become apparent until Izaya finds them. He already had a few ideas of where they would go, it was just about finding out which specific one out of a sea of potential thousands. There was a clue in the videos somewhere, he just had to find it.

Roppi put the stack of papers on Izaya's desk. He held the phone out the raven. **[Done. Anything else?]**

"See if Namie needs something."

Roppi turned to the secretary, who looked up from her work.

"I don't need anything." She said. "Actually, could you tidy up the place a bit? A client will be arriving in thirty minutes."

He typed something and held the phone out to her. Izaya couldn't see what was written.

"There should be some in the pot but could you make sure it's still warm?"

Roppi nodded and pocketed his phone. He went to the kitchen.

Izaya watched him go. The raven devoured Roppi with his eyes, looking that petite back up and down to memorize every curve.

Izaya realized what he was doing. He glowered immediately and looked back at his laptop.

Izaya was fully aware that Roppi's pheromones were affecting his senses. He had done his best to ignore the strange thoughts that had popped in his head and for the most-part he was successful. He had a few hiccups here and there but nothing major.

Until yesterday…

Yesterday, Izaya found his coat sitting on the couch. Roppi had been wearing it when Namie wasn't around in place of wearing a shirt. The coat smelled like the mermaid. And that smell was intoxicating. For a split second, Izaya had lost all forms of control and brought his own coat to his face to inhale the scent of the mute man. He only came out of it because he heard Roppi open the bedroom door. The raven then made a quick dash to the washing machine and had tossed his coat in. His heart had been pounding out of his chest and his jeans were tight around his nether regions.

No way was that a normal reaction for Izaya. Never in a million years would that be a normal reaction. The raven finally admitted that it had to be the pheromones. That was the only explanation. He had thought it strange that they hadn't affected him yet but he now realized he had been under their effects for a while now. Potentially since Izaya had met the mermaid—but more than likely when Roppi gave birth a week ago. That was the only reason Izaya was being affected at all. It was because Roppi's pheromones were stronger than usual because he had just recently given birth. Once Roppi is back to normal and begins regulating regularly, Izaya would have nothing to worry about. He just had to make it through this small blight.

He would best this. He wouldn't be controlled by instinctual desires. He's be stronger than his base nature, like he always has been.

There was no way Izaya would let a monster get the best of him.

* * *

"Thank you, Mishiya-san. Your help in the future will be most appreciated."

"No, thank you for your kind donation to the National Musuem of Nature and Science." The black-haired woman said with a wide smile. "With this, we'll have more than enough money to add in the new exhibit."

"I'm glad I could help. How long do you think it'll take for this exhibit to be accessible to the public?"

"I'd say only a month, thanks to you." Mishiya bowed to Izaya. "You will be the first to be notified so you may attend the premier—free of charge, I assure you."

"That is too kind of you. Here." Izaya turned and grabbed a piece of paper that had just come out of the printer. He handed it to her. "I apologize this isn't a better photograph, but this was the last the detectives saw of them."

"Oh, no, that's fine." She took the paper and looked down at it. "So, the brunette is Sakuraya and the blond is Shitsuo?"

"That is correct."

"And don't call the police if I see them."

"No definitely not. They'll run if you even approach them. They are being quite stubborn about this divorce, they'll try to stay hidden for as long as possible unless one of us can talk to them."

"Your poor aunt and uncle are going to have a full head of gray hair after this."

"If they don't have already."

The two chuckled at that.

"Alright, so if I see them, I will give you a call immediately." Mishiya said before bowing. "I hope it won't come to that and they shall return with less drama behind their heels."

"I hope so too but I'd rather cover all my basis." Izaya bowed to her. "Regardless of the outcome, thank you for your assistance on the matter."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. Thank you again for the generous donation."

"Think nothing of it." Izaya said before gesturing to the door.

The informant led the woman out the door, the two saying their good-byes to each other.

Once the door was closed, Izaya turned and went back to the living room. Roppi immediately walked up to him.

 **[Whos Sakuraya and Shitsuo?]**

Izaya smiled at the message. "If everything goes as planned, you'll see soon enough."

Roppi cocked a brow. He typed a new message and showed it to him. **[Can you give me a bit more than that? You just waisted nearly 5k on an exhibit they MIGHT show up at]**

"I'm sure you can take a guess, Roppi-chan." Izaya walked past with a nonchalant smile. "But I can't share anything until I find them."

Roppi looked annoyed before he glanced to the side, a scowl planted on his brow. Izaya only chuckled as he grabbed his phone off his desk.

He had a new text message. He checked it. A smile creeped across his lips.

"I'll be back in a moment."

Roppi's brows rose in curiosity as he looked up at the informant.

"Namie-san, can you prepare the files for Shiki-san? I'll be heading out after this."

Namie didn't reply as she stood to do just that.

Izaya put on a pair of shoes and left the apartment. The text message was from a delivery service, saying that Izaya's package had arrived. So, the raven went down to the lobby to speak with the front desk about it instead of waiting for them to sort all the mail of the day and deliver them by noon. He wanted the package, immediately. He knew it would make Roppi smile.

Within ten minutes, Izaya returned to his apartment with a medium-sized box.

"Roppi-chan, I have something for you!"

Roppi, who was sitting on Izaya's desk helping Namie sort the files, looked up at the raven. He cocked a brow and tilted his head in obvious confusion to the present. Namie also looked a bit confused but said nothing.

Izaya walked over and held the box out to the mermaid. Roppi looked uncertain but he took it, nonetheless, and put it on the desk. He grabbed his phone and typed.

 **[What is it?]**

"You could just open it and find out?"

 **[should I be worried?]**

"Have you needed to be worried by the presents I've given you thus far?"

Roppi didn't answer. He looked down at the box as Namie finished organizing the files, shoving them all into an orange envelope and putting it on the desk. She then turned away and went back to her own work station. Roppi let out a small groan.

He then sighed and began pulling at the box.

"Would you like a knife?" Izaya asked.

Roppi ignored him as he tore the cardboard like paper. In the box was a bag. Roppi tossed the cardboard to the side and held the bag up. The bag was see-through to show a black coat with red fur. Roppi cocked a brow.

"You seemed to like my coat quite a bit. So, I got you your own."

Roppi raised his brows at him before looking back at the bag. He tore the plastic open and pulled the coat out. He unfolded it to display a coat completely identical to Izaya's, except the fur was dyed red instead of tinted. Roppi tilted his head as he looked at the fur, fiddling with it instead of typing anything on his phone.

"I thought red would look good on you." Izaya grinned. "Besides, if we had the same colored coat, we'd get them confused."

Roppi stared at him. He stared down at the coat. Then shrugged.

He then tossed the coat over his shoulders and put his arms through. He pulled the coat on. Roppi looked at Izaya with a quizzical expression that said, "So, what do you think?"

Izaya smiled. "Looks good on you. The red really brings out your eyes. I have such good taste."

Roppi cocked a brow then rolled his eyes. He put his arms back to lean on them. Which caused the coat to slide down his arms and expose his bare shoulders. Roppi sat up so he could bend his arms to catch the coat. It pooled around his elbows, his shoulders and upper arms displayed.

Izaya couldn't take his eyes off the exposed flesh. For some reason, having the coat slink down his limbs was far more provocative than him in a plain tank top. It was no different than a tease. He had to have done that on purpose. Roppi wouldn't let his clothes slide down his body in front of him unless it was on purpose.

Roppi was inviting Izaya.

And Izaya decided to stop thinking during that split second to take Roppi up on his offer.

Izaya stepped forward and grabbed Roppi's hands. He held them to the side out the way and leaned forward. His lips came over Roppi's.

Roppi's eyes widened and he attempted to pull himself away but Izaya refused him. He pursued, their lips never disconnecting. Izaya tried to shove his tongue into Roppi's mouth. He felt small slits on the man's gums; Izaya registered that those were where the shark fangs came out.

Feeling that inhuman quality brought Izaya back to his senses. He realized what he was doing. And how wrong this was.

Izaya quickly separated, backing away from Roppi with wide-eyes.

"Um, I'm...that—"

Roppi's fist came out just fast enough for Izaya to register it. With not nearly as much power as he could have used, Roppi punched Izaya hard in the cheek.

The informant stumbled back as his vision spun and his ears began to ring. He blinked repeatedly.

Roppi shoved his phone in Izaya's face. The raven had to force himself to focus to read it. However, Roppi didn't give him enough time as he then pushed himself off Izaya's desk. He tossed the phone on the wooden furniture, turned and went up the stairs without looking back.

Izaya shook his head. His world was still spinning, his ears still ringing. He knew he was still standing but if he moved, he was for certain he would fall over. He shook his head again.

He was finally able to focus. He looked around himself to get his bearings. Roppi was nowhere to be seen He took note that Namie was giving him a quizzical, surprised look. Embarrassment and shame grew in Izaya's chest. Borderline humiliation was threatening to creep into his system, as well. He decided to ignore it.

"Everything is in order, right, Namie-san?" Izaya asked, grabbing the envelope off the desk.

"Um...yes..."

"Good."

Izaya glanced at Roppi's phone. The mermaid obviously had no intention to talk to Izaya for a while. The screen was still on, displaying a text message. Izaya leaned down to read.

 **[I told you not to fucking touch me]** Was all that was written.

Izaya felt hot shame fill his chest. **_'Shit...'_**

The raven turned to the door. He grabbed his coat off the coat rack and put on his shoes.

 ** _'I shouldn't be succumbing to these pheromones like this.'_**

Izaya grabbed the door handle but had to give pause.

 ** _'I'm not sure how far I could end up going. I came to my senses this time but the next...'_**

Izaya glared as his teeth clenched. He opened the door and left the apartment behind.


	10. Chapter 10

Izaya absolutely hated Hachimenroppi at this point in time.

Izaya—the calm, collected, and always in control of himself. No one had ever made him do something he didn't want to do, especially with his mind. Izaya was smart. Izaya was smarter than most people. He was usually the smartest person in the room. Making other people think the way he wants them to think is a specialty of his. And no one could ever do the same back to him. His intelligence and his undying will was what he took the most pride in.

But Hachimenroppi completely destroyed that foundation. And what was even worse, it was unintentional. Roppi probably wasn't even aware he was doing it, which was even more annoying. Because of those pheromones, Izaya was using more of his carnal instinct that he had spent so many years ignoring.

Izaya had been arrogant. He was willing to admit it. He had assumed he was strong enough to ignore the pheromones. He had seemingly forgotten he was dealing with an inhuman ability and not normal physical attraction. He had had a monster with supernatural power over his carnal lust stay within a ten foot radius of him at all times without thinking there would be consequences. He now knows that he was wrong, which was a hard pill to swallow.

Now, after being separated from the mermaid for nearly a month, Izaya was coming to feel the exact opposite for Hachimenroppi. He hated the idea that anyone could get the better of him, especially unintentional. Bitterness would swell in his chest from just the thought of the mermaid-turned-man. So, he decided he wouldn't let that be the case anymore. After all, he was the one who took Roppi from Nanasaki, spent a small fortune on him already to take care of him, and even convinced him to take hydrocodone and move in with him. He couldn't let it stand that he was unable to control himself around him. So, Izaya would have to do something about it.

Which was why he had only been home long enough to sleep, shower, and change clothes. He didn't want to go back on what he had decided on—less he make himself look like a fool—so, as agreed, Roppi would stay in Izaya's house until the hydro's wore off or until the 2,000-by-4,000 tank was finished. But it wasn't safe for Izaya to continue working at the office, especially on days when Namie didn't work and the two would be alone. Roppi's pheromones were still extremely powerful and for all Izaya knew, they would remain as such until Roppi was done with the after effects of birth. If he was human to the extent Izaya understood, once Roppi had his first period after birth that should, theoretically, be the indication that his pheromones had regulated out. Izaya wouldn't be as affected by them anymore, since he didn't seem to be that affected by them before Roppi's birthing. Theoretically, Izaya should be able to be around Roppi without complaint once the pheromones were back to the way they were and Izaya would know they were back to normal if he had to start buying pads and tampons.

But Roppi wasn't human. For all Izaya knew, Roppi didn't even have menstrual cycles because of his hermaphroditic properties. If that was the case, Izaya would have no clue when Roppi's pheromones would be back to normal.

So, the raven had been staying in a hotel until he knew for certain it was safe to return home. Said hotel was owned by the Awakusu-kai so the raven was welcome to stay as long as he wanted—he wasn't staying free of charge, but he wouldn't get booted out of the room eventually either. Izaya was staying in the penthouse for the time being, having most of his clients meet him there or he would go to meet his clients. He would go home to use his own shower and sleep in his own bed, as he hated sleeping in any bed but his own. Then he would wake up before Roppi—who usually slept in till late afternoon—and run over his schedule with Namie, get everything he needed in order so that he wouldn't be left without the files he needed for the task ahead, and leave. Occasionally, he would go back to his place for a moment if he absolutely needed something or Namie demanded he come back for a client.

During those times, Roppi was rarely downstairs. And when he was, they didn't speak. Izaya would ignore him to the utmost of his ability, talking and looking only at Namie. Izaya didn't want to take the risk of being tempted and he was still hating Roppi a little—not for what happened, but for the pheromones that made what happened possible. The feeling seemed to be mutual as Roppi also ignored Izaya and would sooner or later go upstairs to be away from Izaya.

Izaya was okay with that. Even though Roppi being so cold to him hurt him emotionally, he was content with that outcome. He knew the only reason it hurt was because of the pheromones. He had no emotional attachment to Roppi before this and he was for certain that it wouldn't change after this.

It was just about making it pass that point.

Until then, this would be Izaya's lifestyle. He had been living as such for at least three-and-a-half weeks. Namie originally complained about this new development, as she didn't like being alone with Roppi all day nor did she like that she had to make sure every single duck was in a row. Originally, she could find certain information in Izaya's file if they were needed but now she had to make sure every little detail would be at the ready for Izaya even if he didn't need it. She complained about it greatly and Izaya had to promise her a raise to make her content.

Izaya let out a heavy sigh as he looked over surveillance footage again. A particular brunette and blond were spotted on it, getting off the Yamanote line from the Ueno station. The informant smiled slightly. He knew exactly where they were going. The new exhibit at the National Museum of Nature and Science will be opened next week. They were going to be getting a hotel in the area in order to be some of the first to the premiere.

Izaya chuckled. "They're quite predictable, aren't they?"

The raven lost sight of the two on that particular camera so he switched onto a different one. Switching from surveillance camera to surveillance camera, Izaya watched the two walk for less than ten minutes before they walked into a cheap hotel.

Izaya closed out of the camera feed. He knew they wouldn't be going anywhere and he had until next week to finally meet them. If he were to approach them at their hotel, they would more than likely run—or worse. It would be best to wait for the exhibit and have a more 'chance' encounter with multiple witnesses to make sure Izaya didn't get his neck snapped. There was no need to rush.

Izaya checked his phone.

 **(1)** **New message**

He checked it. His eyes immediately narrowed.

 **Hachimenroppi**

He openly glowered at his screen as bitterness swirled in his gut from just the name. He didn't want to have anything to do with the mermaid right now. But he knew he couldn't ignore it in case it was important.

He opened the message.

 **[When you coming bak? Hibiyas been pitching a fit for days now.]**

Izaya chuckled a little, feeling vindictive that Roppi was struggling a little without him. He opened the text box.

 **[He's your son. You should be able to discipline him without me.]**

Izaya waited.

 ***PING***

 **[listen here, asshole, discipline isnt the issue here.]**

 ***PING***

 **[Hes been crying nonstop, which has started to get your secretrays attention. She tried to get into my room while I was in the bathroom today and I nearly broke her neck for her shit.]**

 ***PING***

 **[She left right after that.]**

 ** _'Oh, so that's why she called saying she was on her way over…'_** Izaya thought, having thought that was a little bit out of place as she didn't say she was bringing files. Just that she was coming to Izaya's hotel.

 **[You didn't hurt her, did you?]** Izaya typed.

Izaya waited.

 ***PING***

 **[Course not. Just gave her a scare.]**

 ***PING***

 **[Are you done being a lil bitch or are you going to keep avoiding me?]**

Izaya glowered. He turned the phone screen off and dropped it on the couch cushion.

 ** _'You were avoiding me just as much as I was you, hypocrite.'_**

 ***PING***

Izaya glowered at his phone.

But before he could check it, there was a knock on the door. Izaya stood from his couch and went to the entrance. He looked through the peephole to see a very disgruntled woman.

Izaya opened the door, smiling at her. "I told you not to go into Roppi-chan's room."

Namie openly glowered at him. "You didn't tell me there would be children in the house."

Izaya moved out of the way of the door so Namie would enter. "I didn't tell you because Roppi-chan didn't want anyone to know."

Namie walked in. Izaya closed the door.

"Well, you should have told me." Namie glared at him. "A baby has been crying for three days straight. Your house guest has been extremely irritable. He'll go to the bathroom just to escape the screaming for a few minutes."

"And you decided out of the goodness of your heart to see if you could help?"

"No. I've been just as annoyed with the screams. I thought if he couldn't get the baby to stop, I could."

"Were you going to medicate it?"

"Of course not!" She looked quite offended by that.

"So, you thought a woman's touch would calm him?"

Namie scowled before looking to the side, a slight blush forming on her cheeks.

Izaya chuckled. "Don't take what Roppi-chan did to heart. He's like a mother bear when it comes to his children."

"Does that have to do with how he came into your life?"

Izaya smiled as vindictiveness for Roppi seeped into his chest. "It's the exact reason Roppi-chan has come into my life. This is the first time his children weren't stolen from him right after birth."

Namie cocked a brow. "What about the mother?"

"He is the mother."

Namie's brow only cocked more as skepticism laced her expression.

"He's a hermaphrodite."

"Hermaphrodite's can't become pregnant." Namie stated with confidence. "They can't develop one complete set of reproductive organs due to their defective birth."

"You and I both know it's not completely impossible for a hermaphrodite to develop a complete reproductive organ."

" _Theoretically_ , a hermaphrodite can develop a complete reproductive organ. But there hasn't been a documented report of any hermaphrodite having such."

"Until now, that is."

Namie glowered. She did not look convinced. She knew there was something more to Roppi than that. But she said nothing as she instead snorted and walked over to the couch. "I refuse to be alone in the house with him anymore. Either get rid of him or come back."

Izaya didn't let Namie see the glower that crossed his face. It was gone as soon as it was there while Namie's back was to him. He then chuckled.

"Well, I'm not getting rid of him yet."

"Then come back."

"It's a little complicated between us, Namie-san."

"I don't care for your lover's spat. You should count your blessings that you actually found someone who likes you."

Izaya jolted. His eyes widened, and a blush crossed his face.

"N-Namie-san! You've misunderstood! Roppi-chan and I aren't anything like...like _that_!"

Namie looked over her shoulder at him. A smile crept across her lips at the new expression she had never seen on Izaya's face before. She never found Izaya interesting, but she had to admit it was interesting to see him so shaken by someone else's words for once.

"We're not like that." Izaya glowered at her. "Roppi-chan doesn't like me, anyway."

"I'd beg to differ."

Izaya sighed. "I don't think you know Roppi-chan well enough to figure him out."

"I've been around him, by myself, for three weeks." Namie looked at Izaya as if he was stupid. "He's been restless without you there."

"He's always been restless. Cleaning and organizing the house as he sees fit to pass the time. He doesn't have anything better to do."

"He looks excited whenever he hears someone at the door. He gets disappointed when it's not you. When it is you, he has such a huge smile on his face until you look at him."

Izaya felt his heart twist. He knew it was from happiness. But knowing that made Izaya even more sour than he was before.

"Why are you telling me that?" Izaya asked.

"Because you're being childish by running away from him. It's causing problems for everyone involved—including me, who shouldn't be involved with your love life. Face him properly or get rid of him."

Izaya glowered. He walked past her and sat down on the couch.

"Regardless of what you feel for him," Namie said, sitting down in the chair across from him and putting her bag down. "You shouldn't let a random man chase you out of your own house. If you don't want to be around him, then move him here. If you're going to pay for the hotel room and go home to sleep in your own bed then just switch places with him. Roppi and his child can live here."

"No, they can't. It's not safe to have them so far away. If something happens and I'm in Shinjuku—"

"That's doesn't matter if you yourself are in Ikebukuro while he's in Shinjuku."

"No one would be stupid enough to break into Orihara Izaya's house. But a hotel room is easy."

"If you're never there then I don't see why they should be scared."

Izaya glowered yet again.

He then sighed heavily and lied back on the couch. He grabbed his phone to distract himself, turning the screen on.

 **(1)** **New Message**

Izaya checked it.

 **Hachimenroppi: [dude, fuk this. were leaving.]**

Izaya's eyes widened. He sat up. **[What do you mean leaving?]**

He waited.

 ***PING***

 **[I dont know what you think of me but im not comfortable living in a house where im not welcome. Well go back to the warehouse or ill get a hotel room]**

Izaya glared. **[With what money?]**

 ***PING***

 **[Ill figre it out. Dont think I cant figure out how to get money]**

Izaya's mind went to the worse place it could go. **[So you've been a prostitute before?]**

The response back was instantaneous. **[Eat shit and die, you worthless cunt]**

Izaya's eyes widened to the message. **_'I pissed him off.'_**

 **[wait, I didn't mean it like that.]**

There was no reply.

 **[Roppi, don't do anything rash. You know it's not safe for you to go out. Your pheromones are on the fritz. You'll be targeted by all types of wolves]**

Still no reply.

 **[Ill come back to the house. You and I should talk. Dont leave.]**

Izaya stood.

"You're free to go home." Izaya said to Namie, grabbing his coat.

"You have clients still."

"Cancel them."

Izaya went over to the door and tugged on his shoes.

"They'll be upset." Namie said.

"I don't care right now."

Izaya was out the door without further discussion.

* * *

"Roppi!" Izaya called as he stepped into his apartment.

He closed the door without taking off his shoes, stepping over the genkan without a care.

The first thing he noticed was a yellow biker's helmet on black shoulders sitting on the couch.

"Courier-san, what are you doing here?" Izaya asked as he walked over.

On her lap was a sleeping brunette toddler, wrapped in a moist towel. Tsukishima was also on the couch, also wrapped in a moist towel, but he was leaning against Celty instead.

Celty pulled her phone out of her sleeve and began to type.

 **[Roppi texted me. Asked if I would come and babysit for a while.]**

"Why?"

Celty hesitated for a moment. **[He said he was going to look for a place to stay but he didn't want to take the babies in case things get dirty.]**

"What the hell does that mean?" Izaya glared at the phone.

Celty just shrugged. **[You'd have to ask him]**

Izaya did not like that. And unbeknownst to the raven, it showed clearly on his face.

"Did he say where he was going?"

Celty shook her head.

Izaya bit his bottom lip in irritancy.

He then turned and pulled out his phone.

"He took his phone, right?" Izaya asked.

Celty nodded.

"Good."

The raven turned to the door.

"I'll be back."

Izaya was out of the apartment once again.

 ** _'Don't screw with me, Roppi-chan. I can find anyone if I so desire. And you were stupid enough to take your phone with you.'_**

Izaya went to a programming on his phone. Said programming allowed him to locate anyone's phone so long as he had the number, no different than the phone company and police could. He typed in the number Izaya had memorized and waited.

His GPS program opened and put a ping in Shinjuku, close to the Eastside Square.

Izaya chuckled as he went into the elevator. As the lift went down, the raven leaned back against the wall and sighed heavily.

 ** _'You're lucky you're worth the headache, Roppi-chan.'_**

* * *

Izaya got out of the taxi, stepping onto the sidewalk of the Shinjuku Eastside Square. He pulled out his phone and opened the tracking program. Roppi's ping was still in the square. He zoomed in the map then looked up for distinguishable landmarks. Once he had his bearings about him, he turned and walked towards the ping of Roppi's phone.

Izaya swiveled his way around the crowd without incident. More than a few people recognized him and decided to give him a wide girth of room. Usually that would make Izaya smile but as of right now, the infamous informant couldn't care as his face was buried in his phone. The landmarks on the map showed Izaya was getting closer.

He took pause when he saw the top of a fountain over the heads of the crowd. Immediately, he put two and two together and pocketed his phone. He made his way through the sea of people until he was in the center of the square.

The fountain was huge. All types of people were surrounding it, taking pictures and tossing coins in. Izaya looked around.

He spotted a tuff of red fur on a black coat through the gaps in between the numerous bodies. He honed-in on his target.

The person Izaya was looking for was sitting on the edge of the fountain, his shoes off and on the concrete behind him while he soaked his feet in the water. His back was to Izaya as he walked up, the crowd spreading away to give him room.

"You're either stupid or brave to leave the house while in your condition."

Roppi jolted. He looked over his shoulder, staring up at Izaya with wide red eyes.

"There's easily one hundred men in this crowd alone. You're lucky you weren't jumped in an alley on the way here."

"How the hell did you find me?"

Izaya's eyes widened. "Wait, you can speak? How is that possible?"

"Um…" Roppi adverted his eyes. "It's not like I can find a job without being able to talk. I took some aspirin before I left your place."

"Is that why you're soaking your feet? Because your legs hurt?"

"No, my legs don't hurt. The hydro's are still in effect."

"Will taking two drugs have a negative outcome on your body?"

"Not particularly. The hydro's won't last as long because of the aspirin, and I'm breedable now but I get back the sense I lost without pain so it's not so bad."

Izaya felt his body tense at the notion that Roppi was _breedable_. A sadistic part of him was happy and excited to hear that but the majority of him was upset.

"So, you went out in public with the ability to be bred by anyone who was strong enough to pin you down."

"No one's strong enough to pin me down."

"Bullshit."

Roppi looked up at him with a glare. Izaya matched the glare with his own.

Roppi then stood. Without putting on his shoes, he stepped out of the fountain and walked past Izaya. The informant followed him with his eyes, staying where he was with his glare still in place. Izaya noticed there were a few people taking videos with their phones, pointing them at Roppi and Izaya. Of course, something like Izaya being openly mad at someone other than Shizuo was going to make the Dollars news board.

Roppi walked over to a bench. Two people were already sitting on it and they looked up at Roppi with confusion.

"Move." The mermaid said with no room for arguing.

The two girls obeyed, scurrying away.

Roppi then looked over his shoulder at Izaya. "You really seem to not understand who the fuck I am, Izaya."

"What's that supposed to mean? You're Roppi-chan, nothing special."

"Nothing special, you say?"

Roppi turned his back to Izaya and grabbed the back of the bench with both hands. He gave a pull. The metal creaked. Izaya's eyes widened as the bolts that kept the bench attached to the ground popped off.

 ** _'He really is as strong as Shizu-chan!'_**

Roppi pulled the bench from the concrete. He lifted it above his head with one hand and turned around to face Izaya.

"Understand, Izaya, that no one can pin me down unless I fucking let them!" Roppi yelled, looking at Izaya with that same glare. "If anyone even tried, they'd be dead before they had time to register I snapped their fucking neck!"

Izaya clenched his teeth as rage fueled into his chest. He stepped up to Roppi and put himself face to face with the monster, their noses so close they nearly touched.

"You say that, Roppi-chan," Izaya snarled. "But when I found you, you were in a padlocked tank getting raped by a man who _I_ could easily kill if I so desired."

Hurt crossed Roppi's expression to Izaya's words.

"You honestly expect me to think you can protect yourself when you have been in captivity for _twelve years_? Despite your bravado, Roppi-chan, you're weak. And I am for certain you're traumatized. So, go ahead and throw benches and vending machines and street signs like a knock-off Shizu-chan, but I am confident that if anyone were to pin you, you'd freeze. Your mind would go blank and you wouldn't know what to do. No different than a lost rabbit."

Roppi began to shake. The mermaid clenched his teeth tightly, to the point that blood dribbled from Roppi's bottom lip.

"DON'T FUCKING TALK TO ME ABOUT TRAUMA!"

Roppi swung the bench down. Izaya easily dodged to the side, taking a few steps back as the bench bounced off the ground and rolled away. The crowd screamed in shock and quickly backed away from the black-haired Heiwajima Shizuo.

"STOP THINKING THAT I'M AS WEAK AS THE AVERAGE PERSON!" Roppi's glare of hatred he showed to Izaya could definitely rival Shizuo's. It sent a chill of excitement down Izaya's spine. "I'm not like them! Like anyone in this fucking city! I'm not a human! I'm a motherfucking monster! I've lived for hundreds of years! I've hunted with Atalanta! Kissed the Nerieds! Swam with Poseidon! Escaped the jaws of megalodons and watched the kraken sink Atlantis!"

The mermaid stepped up to Izaya. With every word, Izaya was forced to take a step back else Roppi would be within grabbing distance.

"I've seen things that you humans have decided are nothing more than legends! And you want to talk to me about trauma? Nothing any of these pathetic humans could do to me will amount to anything! Twelve years in captivity, you say? Bitch, twelve years feels like a month for something like me! In the blink of a goddamn eye, Nanasaki will be dead from old age! Same for you! You're nothing more than a brief irritation that _won't **fucking LAST**_! In a hundred years, no one will even remember Orihara Izaya and I for shit right, would only have a vague memory of your shit-eating grin, since that's your only defining feature!"

Izaya took another step back. His heel pressed against cold stone and his balance was lost. Izaya let out a call of surprise as he fell back, landing in the fountain with a splash. The water wasn't deep enough to force Izaya to swim but his entire groin, his wrists and hands, and his feet were soaked through—not to mention the phones and wallet that were in his coat pockets.

"Don't sit here and talk to me about trauma!" Roppi looked down at Izaya no differently than a man looking down at his inferior. "Like a little shit like Nanasaki could traumatize me. If the only evidence you have to support that is the grief I have over my stolen children, then you're also wrong. I've sired maybe fifty children in my years. I've had so many I can't even remember all their faces. I've seen plenty of them die before they reached adulthood, either by their own stupidity, their inability to develop survival instincts, and even by other males who wanted to breed me—no different than when lions kill off a lionesses cubs so that the mother isn't tied down anymore. I grieve for them and I get over it. In a world of kill or be killed, trauma doesn't have room to blossom and no amount of little shit stains is going to change that."

Roppi leaned down, putting his hands on the edge of the fountain.

"Stop underestimating me."

Izaya glared at Roppi.

Then a grin crossed his lips. Confusion seeped into Roppi's chest before Izaya's hands reached out. Roppi's eyes widened and he back away, but not fast enough as Izaya grabbed Roppi's wrist. With a harsh tug, Izaya pulled Roppi forward. The mermaid fell face first into the fountain, his head submerging under the water.

Roppi quickly lifted himself up. The left side of his body was completely soaked.

"In my opinion, I'm not underestimating you." Izaya said, standing up on his knees. "If you were nearly as much confident as your words suggest, then why are you only now trying to get away from me? I forced you to start living with me and you just grinned and bore it like you had no choice. That's because you didn't have a choice. You're my property now and you know it, despite my attempts to spoil you and your children. You're just a beast who's found a new master."

Roppi's eyes went wide with rage. "YOU DENSE FUCK!"

Roppi slapped his hand against the water, propelling a sizeable amount at the informant to thoroughly douse him. Izaya coughed as water went up his nose.

"You think I would stick around if I didn't enjoy your company?!" Roppi yelled. "I could have eaten you the day you let me out of my restraints! No one would have even known you died! There'd be no body for anyone to find! Even without the hydro's, I could have figured something out! But I didn't! Instead I saved your sad fucking life! You even stop to wonder why that was?!"

Izaya glowered at him. He slammed his hands in the water and splashed Roppi back. "I refuse to act like you did me a favor when you were the one who put my life in danger to begin with!"

"That's not the point!" Roppi splashed Izaya again. "I could have killed you but I didn't! Why is that?!"

"I don't know! Why is that?!" Izaya splashed the mermaid.

Roppi splashed Izaya. "Because I fucking like you, you dense fuck!"

Izaya's eyes widened as his heart skipped a beat. He could hear the blood rush to his head. Happiness, excitement, and sexual desire filled Izaya's system. Those feelings were quickly replaced with rage.

Izaya grabbed Roppi's shoulders and pushed the raven. The mermaid fell back and splashed under the water. The informant waited for Roppi to reemerge.

"Don't treat me like I'm stupid!" Izaya yelled. "You can't tell me that you've liked me since the moment we've met!"

Roppi clenched his teeth. He propelled himself up and pushed Izaya back. Izaya caught himself on his elbows so his head stayed above water.

"And why the fuck not?!" Roppi called back. "You showed me respect and actually seemed to like me back, even before the pheromones got out of hand! Within the two hours we met you already wasted five grand on me!"

"It was twelve grand!"

"Twe—you're so fucking retarded! You spend twelve grand on me like it's fucking paper and you want to tell me you don't like me?! Even have the audacity to tell me I'm not allowed to like you back?!"

Roppi splashed Izaya again.

"You're a dumb fucking bitch, you know that?! For all your talk of being so smart, you're fucking half-bake retarded!"

"Don't make fun of my intelligence!" Izaya splashed Roppi back. "I'm smart enough to know that these feelings aren't my own! Even now, your pheromones are making me think things that I wouldn't normally think!"

"My pheromones are back to normal!"

Izaya's eyes widened. "Wha…"

"They've been normal for the last week!"

Izaya blushed.

"You've been avoiding me because of the pheromones so as of right now, you shouldn't be affected by them! You've cold-turkeyed yourself long enough! You didn't show signs of being heavily affected by them before I gave birth so theoretically, you should be looking at me no differently than how you did before the kids were in the picture! If you still see me as something fuckable then that's on you, not the pheromones!"

Izaya felt his ears begin to burn as his whole face heated up.

He then glared. "You're full of it! Like hell I'd want to mount a monster!" Izaya splashed the mermaid.

"You don't have to mount me to admit you like me!" Roppi splashed back.

"I don't like you!" Izaya splashed.

"You're lying!" Roppi splashed.

"I'm not lying!" Izaya splashed again.

"You're so full of it!" Roppi splashed again.

" _You're_ full of it!" Izaya splashed back.

"You want fucking proof?!" Roppi pushed Izaya before splashing him yet again. "There's a hotel room right around the corner! If I have to rock your world to kick you out of denial then I'll fucking do it!"

"You _will **not**_!" Izaya shoved Roppi under the water as embarrassment filled his ears.

He let Roppi go and the mermaid came back up.

"Stop trying to drown me! I'll fucking return the favor!" Roppi splashed Izaya with one hand the then other then both.

"You have gills! You can't drown!" Izaya slammed his hands on the water and splashed the both of them.

"I can in this form, you daft fuck!" Roppi splashed Izaya again. "I don't have them like this!"

"HA! What is that? A mermaid who can drown? That's pathetic!" Izaya splashed Roppi back.

"Why don't you yell that a little louder!" Roppi pushed Izaya under the water momentarily. He continued talking once the informant reemerged. "Why don't you get a megaphone and just drive around the fucking city, you idiot!"

"You're the idiot!" Izaya splashed Roppi.

"Don't call me an idiot!" Roppi splashed him back.

A whistle blowing tore through the air. The two raven's continued to splash each other without a care.

"HEY!"

They looked over.

A motorcycle cop stood before the two, casting the two adults a glare.

"This isn't a swimming pool nor a room! If you two want to argue, be more adult about it! Get out of the fountain!"

Roppi glared at the cop while Izaya felt mortification fill his system. The informant stood and got out of the water. Roppi just watched him go.

"We're very sorry for the commotion." Izaya bowed before the cop.

Izaya looked back to see Roppi not making any form of movement. The informant glared at him and gestured for him to get out. The mermaid growled and glared at Izaya. But he obeyed, standing up. He stood next to Izaya and bowed as well.

"You two shouldn't make a scene in public like this!" the cop yelled. "Regardless of your relationship, this was beyond childish!"

For the next five minutes, the two received a lecture from the police officer, who seemed to be enjoying tearing the two down a peg and giving them advice on their love relationship. Izaya couldn't care less for what he had to say. He was more focused on Roppi, who was glaring at the ground. The cop finished by telling them they were lucky he didn't arrest them. The two apologized and he went on his merry way.

Izaya sighed heavily as he stood upright. Roppi also straightened up, however he then leaned over and pulled all of his hair over his shoulder. He grabbed it all and began ringing the water out of it like one would a towel.

"Come back to the house." Izaya grumbled at Roppi. "You shouldn't have left to begin with."

"What, we just going to gloss over everything we just screamed at each other two seconds ago?" Roppi growled as water poured from his long black locks.

"Roppi."

Roppi let out an inhuman growl. "Whatever, I'm not going back."

The mermaid tossed his hair over his shoulder and grabbed his shirt to wring it out as well.

"You're just being stubborn. We'll have a proper discussion later."

"Don't try and lecture me about stubbornness!" Roppi shook his hands out at Izaya, water flying off his finger tips and splashing Izaya in the face. "You avoid me for three fucking weeks over a little kiss and still want to play the pheromone card. If you don't want to be around me then fucking fine! But don't expect me to stay in a house where I'm not welcome."

"You are welcome! If you weren't, I would have kicked you out."

"So, you decided to kick yourself out?!" Roppi looked up and glared at him. "This is why I call you retarded!"

"Roppi—"

"No, I refuse." Roppi flapped out his shirt. "I'm not playing this game. I have little patient for pussy-footers. Either tell me the truth or fuck off. I'm not giving you another option."

"Don't forget that I own you. You can't leave without my say so."

"You wanna play that card?!" Roppi walked up to Izaya and got in his face. "Fine! Don't forget I saved your fucking life! _You_ belong to _me_ as your life is now _mine_!"

"Pah—wha—!" Izaya was taken aback.

"If I was your _property_ , I doubt you would take care of me as much as you have. We're equals, as far as I'm concerned, but if you want to pull that shit then fine—two can play that game."

Izaya was openly irritated as he glared at Roppi.

"My statement stands." Roppi turned away from Izaya to grab his shoes. "If you like me then admit it. If you don't want to then fuck off."

"And if I tell you I don't like you?"

"We both know you're lying!" Roppi glared over his shoulder at him. "I like you and it's because I like you than I'm dealing with your shit!"

Roppi faced forward and grabbed his socks out of his boots. Izaya clenched his fists and glared. He stepped up behind Roppi but gave himself enough distance so that, if Roppi turned around, they wouldn't bump into each other.

"How do you like me?" Izaya asked. "Do you like me because I got you away from Nanasaki? Or because I've given you a place to stay?"

"I would let you fuck me, that's how I like you." Roppi pulled on his boots.

"We've only known each other for a little over a month. You can't like me like that."

"Says who?" Roppi refused to look at him as he tied his laces.

Izaya clicked his tongue.

"Whatever, do what you want." Roppi pulled his jeans over the top of his boots and stood upright. "I'll be back for the kids later tonight."

Roppi turned to walk away.

The mermaid was stopped as Izaya grabbed his wrist. Roppi glared at the ground, still refusing to look at him.

"Let go of me before I snap your arm." Roppi grumbled.

"No, you're not listening to me."

"I don't need to listen to you. Everything you're going to say is shit."

"Is that what you've thought of me this entire time?"

"No, I actually liked talking to you, but you can't admit your own feelings so I'm not fucking with that train wreck."

"Would you be satisfied if I admitted it?"

"That's the whole point of this fucking conversation, isn't it?!" Roppi yelled.

Izaya clenched his teeth. He pulled Roppi back. The mermaid's eyes widened as he was turned around to face the informant. Izaya grabbed both of his wrists and held them tight, pulling them up to their chests so that Roppi couldn't easily pull away. The raven was uncomfortably close.

Izaya kissed Roppi. Roppi's eyes widened even more.

 ** _'He bites his lips a lot.'_** Izaya took note to the chapped sensation against his lips but he wouldn't say that aloud.

Izaya wouldn't go too far with this kiss. It was merely a connection of the lips to show affection. But as Izaya separated, that one simple act left the informant crazing for more of his inhuman companion.

"That's not admitting it." Roppi grumbled, a blush marring his white cheeks.

"That's as close as you're going to get."

Roppi glowered.

Izaya stepped back but held onto one of Roppi's wrist. "Let's go home."

Roppi clenched his teeth as well as his hands. He then huffed and looked everywhere but at Izaya. "Fuck you. Fine."

Izaya let out a monosyllabic chuckle and faced forward. He gave Roppi a small tug as they two began to walk.


	11. Chapter 11

Celty heard the front door open. She looked over her shoulder—although she didn't need to—to see Izaya and Roppi walk in the door. The dullahan felt confusion and curiosity seeing the two ravens were soaked.

The two pulled off their shoes. Izaya walked in first, taking off his coat.

"Give me your coat." Izaya said, looking over his shoulder at Roppi. "I'll wash them."

Roppi walked right past him, making a point not to even look at him. The red-eyed man walked up to Celty. Celty did not miss the glare Izaya casted Roppi.

"How long have they been asleep?" Roppi asked.

Celty pulled out her PDA and began to type. **[Only about an hour.]**

"Okay. I'll take them."

"I'll help." Izaya said, walking over.

Roppi picked up Tsukishima carefully and pushed him against his chest. The mermaid then knelt down and pulled Hibiya off of Celty's lap.

"I can take Hibiya." Izaya said.

Roppi looked over his shoulder and snarled at the informant. Izaya glowered at him. Roppi pulled Hibiya to his chest. With the two babies firmly in his arms, he stood and went up the stairs. Roppi disappeared into his bedroom, using his foot to close the door.

 ** _'This is a tense atmposphere.'_** Celty thought, looking over at Izaya again.

The informant was glaring at the door Roppi went into.

 **[What happened?]** Celty typed.

"That's not for you to worry about." The response was instantaneous.

Celty felt surprised at the biting tone. She had never seen Izaya so irritated before. This wasn't like the collected informant she had dealt with in the past. There was no grin and no malicious glint in his eyes. Just pure, unadulterated annoyance as he stared up the steps.

"How long have you been here, Courier-san?"

Celty 'stared' at him for a moment before she started to type. **[About two hours.]**

Izaya nodded before going over to his desk. He opened his drawer and pulled out a wad of dollar bills. He tugged two out of the bundle and tossed the rest back into the drawer. He walked over and held out two 10,000 bills to Celty.

"Thank you for your service. You can go home now."

Celty questioned whether or not that was a good idea. She took the money and shoved it into the breast of her jump suit. She stood and typed. **[Why are you angry?]**

"I said you don't need to worr—"

Celty shoved her phone in Izaya's face. **[I'm asking because there are infants in the house.]**

Izaya scoffed and rolled his eyes. Celty was again, surprised. **_'He's so openly hostile. Shizuo hasn't even brought this side out of him.'_**

"You don't need to worry. Roppi and I just have some things to discuss."

Izaya walked over to the stairs.

"You can let yourself out."

Celty watched the raven go up the stairs. However, he didn't go into Roppi's bedroom. He went into a different room, leaving the door propped open.

 ** _'What's got Izaya so upset?'_** Celty thought.

Roppi came out of his room, quietly closing the door behind him. He stared down at her as he walked down the steps.

"Hey, you've been here for two hours-ish, right?" Roppi asked.

Celty walked over and typed. **[Izaya already payed me.]**

"Oh, okay. Thanks for doing this, Celty-san."

 **[Is everything okay? Izaya seems upset.]**

Roppi glowered at the message.

 ** _'Eh? He's upset too?'_**

"It'll be fine." Roppi grumbled. "Shit's getting a little complicated. We'll figure it out."

 **[Should I stick around?]**

"Nah, you're fine. Th adults need to talk, that's all. You should go home before it gets late."

 ** _'Adults need to talk? As in, they had an argument like a couple would?'_**

Celty immediately banned the thought from her mind. **[Okay. Give me a call if you need me.]**

Roppi read the message and chuckled. "Us monsters have to stick together, huh?"

Celty typed nothing.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the offer."

Celty nodded and pocketed her phone. Roppi walked the courier to the door, opening it for her. He waved her good-bye as she stepped out.

As she walked down the steps, her mind wondered back up to the informant's apartment. **_'I wonder if he did mean it like that? Like a couple's argument? I've never seen Izaya act differently and Roppi had to have been the cause. The tension didn't feel like a room mates dispute.'_**

Now standing on the side-walk, the headless woman looked up at the apartment building.

 ** _'I wonder what could have happened?'_**

* * *

Ryuugamine Mikado scrolled through the news feed of the Dollars dashboard. Nothing new or interesting was happening today. The city was pretty quiet. Most of the people who were online were just idly talking about one particular thread or another. Someone posted pictures of a litter of kittens, saying they were up for grab if anyone wanted a kitten—as she needed to get rid of them before the landlord found out, but she didn't want to take them to a shelter where they may never get adopted. Another person went on a rant of the politics that were going on. Another posted a video of the Black Bike swerving through traffic without fear as she sped along to her destination.

Mikado sighed as he leaned back. He stretched his arms up above his head, groaning along with the act. He grabbed his mouse once again and refreshed the page to see if anything new was posted.

"Eh?"

Mikado's eyes widened at the new thread that popped up.

 **[Guys, I was in Shinjuku today and Izaya was having an argument with this guy! Like, he was seriously pissed off and they were yelling at each other!]**

Underneath the text was a video.

Mikado turned up his speakers and pushed play.

There was a lot of mixed voices in the video. The camera was held up above a crowd of people and was shakily pointed at Izaya and another black-haired man. The two were sitting in the water of a fountain and were splashing at each other. Mikado couldn't hear anything they were saying but Izaya did not look happy at all. He couldn't see the expression of the other person as that person's back was to the camera.

The video was only 30 seconds long and it was nothing but the two adults splashing each other.

Already the video was getting comments.

 **[Dude, I can't hear anything and the camera's shaking everywhere.]**

 **[I know I couldn't get closer. Everyone was videoing it.]**

 **[Izaya looks pissed~! I've never seen him make that face before!]**

 **[Who's that?]**

 **[That's Orihara Izaya. He fights with Heiwajima Shizuo all the time.]**

 **[Not him, the other person.]**

 **[I don't know. I cant see his face.]**

 **[Hey, guys, I was also in Shinjuku Square. I had a front row seat to everything from the beginning. It took me a bit cuz I had to configure the file so the background noise is up and the foreground noise is low. But you can hear everything they're saying now.]** **[Video]**

Mikado clicked the video, this one being 24:08 long.

The Dollars leader was astounded at the content. The man Izaya was arguing with was quite pretty. With glossy white skin, black hair, and blood red eyes, he looked like he stepped right off an anime poster.

More comments rolled it.

 **[OMG, he's so pretty!]**

 **[THEY EXIST! BLACK HAIR RED EYE PEOPLE EXIST!]**

 **[It's gotta be contacts.]**

 **[He's fucking hot though.]**

This man was just as strong as Shizuo. He tore a bench from the ground just like the blond bartender.

 **[THERE'S TWO OF THEM! THERE'S TWO SHIZUO'S!]**

 **[They've got to be related or something!]**

 **[Dude dude dude, wtf!?]**

The man yelled that no one could pin him down. Izaya immediately got in the man's face, stepping so close their noses looked like they were touching.

 _"…You were in a padlocked tank getting raped by a man_ I _could easily kill if I so desired."_

 **[Oh my god, is that true? Izaya's gotta be lying, that's so horrible!]**

The man became visibly upset.

 **[He's not lying!]**

 **[That poor man!]**

 **[How the hell did Izaya find this guy!]**

Izaya continued to tell this 'Roppi-chan' that he was weak and traumatized.

 **[Roppi, that's such a cute name.]**

 **[Izaya is tearing in to him.]**

 **[What a dick! He shouldn't say that!]**

 _"DON'T FUCKING TALK TO ME ABOUT TRAUMA!"_

The man swung the bench down to hit Izaya. Izaya moved out of the way, as to be expected.

 **[Holy shit!]**

 **[Izaya pissed him off]**

 **[Is he going to chase him like Heiwajima does?]**

 _"STOP THINKING THAT I'M AS WEAK AS THE AVERAGE PERSON!"_

 **[Dude, he looks exactly like Shizuo if Shizuo had black hair.]**

 **[that's terrifying]**

 **[Izaya should run very fast]**

 _"I'm not a human! I'm a motherfucking monster! I've lived for hundreds of years!"_

 **[The fuck is this guy saying?]**

 **[Who's Atalanta?]**

 **[What's a Nereid?]**

 **[He kissed a Nereid? That's hot!** **;)]**

 **[Nereids are the daughter of Poseidon. Legend is that if you kiss a Nereid you'll be given the gift of breath underwater.]**

 **[Just like a mermaids kiss?]**

 **[Dude, the fuck is he saying? He swam with Poseidon! Poseidon's not real!]**

 **[That's a Greek god right?]**

 **[Yeah, the god of the sea.]**

 **[Actually, Poseidon was known more for being the earthshaker rather than the god of the sea]**

 **[HE WATCHED ATLANTIS SINK?! WTF!]**

 **[This guys got a wild imagination]**

 **[no dude, I don't think he's lying!]**

 **[He's got to be lying!]**

 **[he's full of shit]**

 **[There is a headless guy riding around on a black bike in Ikebukuro and a man who can break steel like it's a twig! I think we should be a bit open minded here!]**

 **[Yeah, you dumb fucks]**

 **[that's rude]**

 **[wait megalodons are real?]**

 **[Oh god no!]**

 **[I'll never get on a boat again, what the fuck?!]**

Izaya stepped back as Roppi approached. Izaya was trying to keep some distance between them while the man continued to scream at him.

 _"…be dead from old age! Same for you! You're nothing more than a brief irritation that_ won't **fucking LAST**! _In a hundred years, no one will even remember Orihara Izaya and I for shit right, would only have a vague memory of your shit-eating grin, since that's your only defining feature!"_

 **[Dude! He's ripping Izaya a new asshole!]**

 **[Holy shit, Go Roppi-chan Go! Tell that fucker off!]**

 **[HA! Serves the bastard right!]**

 **[Oh no don't do that Roppi! Izaya will kill you!]**

 **[I dont think Izaya can kill him! Hes another Shizuo!]**

 **[He'll make him disappear!]**

 **[oh god, don't poke the bear, Roppi-chan!]**

Izaya stepped back too far and let out a call of surprise as he fell backwards.

 **[OMG!]**

 **[LOL! Did you hear that squeak!]**

 **[OMG, LOL, I'm repeating that noise! It's so funny!]**

 **[I didnt know Izaya could make that noise!]**

 **[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA!]**

 **[HE FELL INTO THE FOUNTAIN LOL!]**

 **[omg how the mighty have fallen, hahaha!]**

 **[wow, I've never seen Izaya be so ungraceful]**

 **[right right, that's so fricken adorable!]**

 **[You reap what you sow Izaya!]**

 **[yeah, fuck you Izaya!]**

 **[dude, that roppi guy is so confident! Look at him! He's looking down his nose at Izaya!]**

 **[wow, who is this guy! I want his babies after seeing this!]**

 **[Izaya's not so scary!]**

 **[big and bad information broker my ass!]**

 _"…evidence you have is the grief I have over my stolen children, then you're also wrong."_

 **[His kids were stolen from him?!]**

 **[This poor guy!]**

 **[Izaya had to have found him in one of those underground auctions]**

 **[no doubt]**

 **[Izaya is a fucking scumbag!]**

 _"I've sired maybe fifty children in my years. I've had so many I can't even remember all their faces!"_

 **[What a bastard!]**

 **[What the hell, Roppi! I was rooting for you!]**

 **[He can't remember his kids faces?]**

 **[HE HAD FIFTY KIDS?!]**

 **[I feel bad for the mother!]**

 **[bet he's a deadbeat dad!]**

 **[OMG, his kids died! That's so sad!]**

 **[What kind of world did this guy live in to see so many of his kids die!]**

 **[POOR ROPPI!]**

 **[I'm crying so much right now! That's horrible!]**

 **[Wait, wait, wait! He said other males killed his kids to breed him!]**

 **[Oh my god, is he actually a girl?!]**

 **[They killed his kids to breed him?! That's fucking barbaric!]**

 **[apparently the world he lives in is kill or be killed]**

 **[he seems to have a good hold on himself]**

 **[Yeah, Izaya pissed him off but it doesn't seem to have gotten under his skin. He's just telling Izaya what's what.]**

 **[He called Izaya a little shit stain, lol]**

 **[hahaha, Izaya the shit stain. That's got a good ring to it]**

 _"Stop underestimating me."_

 **[Yeah, you tell him Roppi!]**

 **[show him what you're made off]**

 **[take that Izaya!]**

 **[Roppi is so brave to talk to Izaya like that! He's not scared at all!]**

Izaya grinned and grabbed Roppi's wrists. The man was pulled into the fountain, his head going under the water.

 **[That was childish!]**

 **[Izaya's such a brat!]**

 **[Dude, not cool!]**

 **[They're even now, lol]**

 **[now they're both wet]**

 **[LOL]**

 _"In my opinion, I'm not underestimating you. If you were nearly as confident as your words suggest then why are you only now trying to get away from me? I forced you to start living with me and you just grinned and bore it like you had no choice. That's because you didn't have a choice. You're my property now and you know it, despite my attempts to spoil you and your children. You're just a beast who's found a new master."_

 **[Izaya is a fucking cunt!]**

 **[He called him a beast!]**

 **[Asshole!]**

 **[#FuckIzaya]**

 **[This poor guy was forced to live with Izaya?]**

 **[oh god, the horrors he must have seen]**

 **[He definitely bought him. He called him his property]**

 **[wait, guys, Izaya said spoil you and your children. This guy was forced to bring his kids and live with Izaya! Izaya is living with children!]**

 **[oh god, we should call the police!]**

 **[Those poor kids are probably getting abused!]**

 **[someone needs to tell Shizuo! Shizuo will save them!]**

 **[Shizuo's just as likely to hurt the kids as Izaya is.]**

 **[WAIT GUYS! HE SAID SPOIL THE KIDS! HE'S NOT ABUSING THEM!]**

 **[He just said they were his property! I'd count that as abuse!]**

 _"YOU DENSE FUCK!"_

Roppi splashed Izaya.

 **[HAHAHAHAHA! He splashed Izaya! He splashed him!]**

 **[He called him dense! DENSE!]**

 **[I really like this guy. I hope Izaya doesn't kill him.]**

 _"You think I would stick around if I didn't enjoy your company! I could have eaten you the day you let me out of my restraints! No one would have even known you died! There'd be no body for anyone to find!"_

 **[OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG]**

 **[this guy is scary]**

 **[what the fuck]**

 **[wtf]**

 **[WTF!]**

 **[CANNIBAL! HE'S A CANNIBAL!]**

 **[No, hes a monster. I dont think that counts as cannibalism]**

 **[He doesn't look like a monster!]**

 **[Should have killed him, Roppi. You'd be doing the world a favor.]**

 **[good think roppi didn't eat him. He'd have such a stomach ache for eating rotten food, lol]**

 **[Izaya let him out of his restraints. He freed him, guys!]**

 **[dude who are you? Some kind of Izaya simpethiser. gtfo]**

 **[at least I can spell sympathizer]**

 **[fuck you dude]**

 _"I refuse to act like you did me a favor when you were the one who put my life in danger to begin with!"_

 **[LOL, he splashed Roppi back. Thats fucking adorable]**

 **[Roppi-chan saved Izaya's life.]**

 **[shouldn't have]**

 **[dammit, the world was so close to the miracle that is Izaya dead]**

 **[you guys are fucked up]**

 **[Izayas fucked up]**

 **[Izaya deserves it]**

 **[he's trash]**

 **[you all are going to die if Izaya's sees your comments. He's a member of the dollars too]**

Immediately, posts in the thread started to get deleted by the user. Mikado refreshed his page because of that. A decent amount of comments were replaced with a small gray box saying 'the comment was deleted by user'. Mikado restarted the video and fast-forwarded to where he was.

 _"That's not the point!"_ Roppi yelled as he splashed Izaya again. _"I could have killed you but I didn't! why is that?!"_

 _*Splash* "I don't know! Why is that?!"_

 _*Splash* "Because I fucking like you, you dense fuck!"_

"EEEHHHH?!" Mikado yelled as his eyes grew wide.

 **[OMG!]**

 **[ROPPI JUST CONFESSED TO IZAYA!]**

 **[NO I WANTED TO HAVE ROPPI'S BABIES! IZAYA YOU THIEF!]**

 **[IZAYA JUST GOT CONFESSED TO! OMG OMG OMG OMG!]**

 **[KAWAIII~~~~!]**

 **[how the fuck can a bastard like Izaya find someone but I'm still single?! This is s a fucked up world we live in.]**

 **[look at Izaya look at Izaya! Hes shocked!]**

Izaya pushed Roppi.

 **[Now hes pissed.]**

 _"Don't treat me like I'm stupid! You can't tell me that you've liked me since the moment we've met!"_

 _"And why not?!"_ Roppi shoved Izaya back. _"You showed me respect and actually seemed to like me back, even before the pheromones got out of hand!"_

 **[Wow, is Izaya a high schooler? He so obviously like this guy]**

 **[totally agree. he's trying to deny it by denying roppi's feelings.]**

 **[what are they talking about with the pheromones?]**

 **[HE WASTED 12K ON THAT GUY IN 2 HOURS! GTFO!]**

 **[wish I had that kind of money to blow, jesus!]**

 **[lol, he called Izaya retarded. Bet thats the first time hes heard that]**

 **[yeah, yell at him, Roppi! He shouldn't waste money like it's nothing! You yell at that adorable idiot!]**

 **[fuck yeah Izaya likes roppi. 12 grand in two hours and you wanna say Izaya doesnt like him. Roppi knows where its at]**

Roppi splashed Izaya again. _"You're a dumb fucking bitch, you know that?! For all your talk of being so smart, you're fucking half-bake retarded!"_

 **[YAY! TELL HIM ROPP!]**

 **[He called Izaya a bitch! A BITCH! THIS GUY HAS THE BIGGEST BALLS!]**

 **[LOL]**

 **[I'M LAUGHING SO HARD I'M CRYING!]**

 **[Half-bake retarded. New favorite insult.]**

 **[that's going in a book somewhere, lol]**

 _"I'm smart enough to know that these feelings aren't my own! Even now, your pheromones are making me think things that I would never normally think!"_

 _"My pheromones are back to normal!"_

 _"Wha…"_

 _"They've been normal for the last week!"_

 **[holy shit, the never before seen speechless Izaya]**

 **[what the fuck is with this pheromone talk?]**

 **[is he an incubus or something?]**

 **[IZAYA'S BLUSHING! HE'S BLUSHING! SO CUTE!]**

 **[lol, Izaya was avoiding him. Hes seriously got the mentality of a high schooler dont he?]**

 **[it sounds like this guy has that omega thing? You guys know what I'm talking about?]**

 **[you mean that trope thats been going around that gender doesnt matter, if your an omega you can get pregnant]**

 **[yeah, and that when an omega goes into heat, they let out pheromones to attract alphas]**

 **[Roppi's an omega. Confirmed.]**

 **[ROPPI-CHAN IS A GIRL! HE SAID HE GAVE BIRTH! OMG]**

 **[He is the most unlady-like chick I've ever seen]**

 **[his chest is a little flat for a girl.]**

 **[a-cup]**

 **[it doesnt even look like hes an a-cup. He looks like hes a guy]**

 **[zoom in on the chest. he doesnt have cleavage and the tank top is drooping low]**

 **[OMEGA-ROPPI CONFIRMED]**

 **[wtf is this guy?]**

 _"…If you see me as something fuckable then that's on you, not the pheromones!"_

 **[Wow, Izaya wants to fuck a guy]**

 **[YAOI YAOI YAOI YAOI YAOI. IZAYA YOU LOVE HIM LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!]**

 **[I knew Izaya was gay]**

 **[he's blushing so hard, omg]**

 _"You're full of it! Like hell I'd want to mount a monster!"_ Izaya splashed Roppi.

 **[lol, looks like gender doesnt matter.]**

 **[he's like 'screw if you're a guy, I just want you to be human' lol]**

 _"You don't have to mount me to admit you like me!"_ Roppi splashed back.

 _"I don't like you!" *splash*_

 _"You're lying!" *splash*_

 _"I'm not lying!" *splash*_

 _"You're so full of it!" *splash*_

 _"_ You're _full of it!" *splash*_

 **[These two, omg lmao]**

 **[they are children. Children in adult suits]**

 **[they're adorable]**

 **[relationship goal]**

 **[yelling at each other is too mainstream! *adds water* perfect!]**

 **[im rooting for them]**

 **[#IzayaXRoppi]**

 **[Izaya is SOOOO in denial here!]**

 **[its cute]**

 **[roppi aint having none of the izayas shit, lol]**

 **[GO ROPPI GO! GO ROPPI GO!]**

 **[IZAYA-SEMPAI EXCEPT MY FEELINGS!]**

 **[NOTICE ME SEMPAI! –splashes with water—]**

 **[this is how I'm going to propose to my girlfriend, lol]**

 _"You want fucking proof?! There's a hotel room right around the corner! If I have to rock your world to kick you out of denial then I'll fucking do it!"_

 **[OMG!]**

 **[modesty is out the window there]**

 **[what is this modesty you speak of? Roppi has heard of it not]**

 **[ROCK HIS WORLD! ROCK IS WORLD SO HARD!]**

 **[I'd pay to see Izaya have sex]**

 **[ew, gross. Gtfo you freak]**

 **[izaya's hot. Imagine that on top of you]**

 **[I'd rather not. I just ate]**

 **[YAY KICK IS ASS STRAIGHT OUT OF DENIAL AND INTO ACCEPTANCE!]**

 **[I wish I was as confident as this guy, damn :/]**

 **[Normal girls: "I love you" "Please go out with me" Roppi: "Let's fuck. I'll rock your world." LMFAO]**

 _"You_ will **not** _!"_ Izaya pushed Roppi again.

 **[He's blushing so hard]**

 **[lol, he's embarrassed!]**

 **[Izaya has finally met his match, haha]**

 _"Stop trying to drown me! I'll fucking return the favor!"_ Roppi splashed Izaya three times back to back.

 **[Drown. Him]**

 **[lol, these two…]**

 _"You have gills! You can't drown!" *Splash*_

 _"I can in this form, you daft fuck! I don't have them like this!" *Splash*_

 _"HA! What is that? A mermaid who can drown? That's pathetic!" *Splash*_

 **[Mermaid?!]**

 **[WTF!]**

 **[IZAYA FOUND A MOTHERFUCKING MERMAID!]**

 **[The Little Mermaid -Gay Edition]**

 **[THEY EXIST! I KNEW IT!]**

 **[90% of the ocean is unexplored. You can't tell me there aren't mermaids, lol]**

 **[Looks like Roppi didn't want that know.]**

 **[LOL He's yelling at Izaya for being a loud mouth.]**

 **[he called Izaya an idiot! Hahahaha]**

 **[Roppi the Fearless!]**

 _"HEY!"_

 **[AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!]**

 **[They got lectured, omg!]**

 **[LOL LOL LOL LOL]**

 **[I'm crying! There are legit tears from laughing right now!]**

 **[Izaya's all polite and roppi's like, 'nah bitch']**

 **[they're seriously children, oh my god]**

 **[cop obviously doesn't know who he's talking to, lol]**

 **[fuck that cop. He changed the entire tone of the fight. It was cute earlier now it's all tense]**

 _"Don't try and lecture me about stubbornness! You avoid me for three fucking weeks over a little kiss…"_

 **[They kissed!]**

 **[OMG!]**

 **{Ship ship ship, sail all the ships!]**

 **[who kissed who?! Who kissed who?!]**

 _"…don't expect me to stay in a house where I'm not welcome."_

 _"You are welcome! If you weren't, I would have kicked you out."_

 _"So you decided to kick yourself out?! This is why I call you retarded!"_

 **[Yay, you tell him]**

 **[wait, Izaya let this guy take over his house?]**

 **[omg, thats so sweet]**

 **[he kicked himself out lol. Wtf]**

 **[Roppi is bae]**

 **[I wanna shake this guys hand. He totes has my respect]**

 **['I have little patience for pussy-footers'. Same]**

 **[hold onto your guns Roppi.]**

 _"Don't forget I own you. You can't leave without my say so."_

 _"You wanna play that card?! Fine! Don't forget I saved your fucking life!_ You _belong to_ me _as your life is now_ mine _!"_

 _"Pah—wha—!"_

 **[OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH! Izaya just got OWNED!]**

 **[The speechless Izaya has made a surprise second appearance! Look at this magnificent specimen!]**

 **[Dude, I was about to get super pissed but looks like Roppi's got the situation under control]**

 **[Roppi is king! King king king!]**

 **[He says they're equal. Dude, Roppi really isn't scared of Izaya at all.]**

 **[Two can play that game! Oh god, there's two players now lol!]**

 **[god I hope this guy isnt like Izaya with his shitty personality. We really dont need two Izayas]**

 **[An Izaya with Shizuo's strength. I can't think of anything more terrifying.]**

 _"…I like you and it's because I like you that I'm not dealing with your shit!"_

 **[Poor Roppi.]**

 **[my kokoro. T.T]**

 **[don't worry roppi, I'll love you]**

 **[if most girls thought like this, they wouldnt get stuck in shitty relationships]**

 **[fuck off with you]**

 **[#Roppiisgirlpower]**

 _"How do you like me?"_

 **[Wow, Izaya sounds so insecure]**

 _"I would let you fuck me, that's how I like you."_

 **[LOL]**

 **[How do you like me? "I love you to the moon and back." "I would die for you" Roppi—I would let you fuck me lol lol]**

 _"We've only known each other for a little over a month. You can't like me like that."_

 _"Says who?"_

 **[Dude, Roppi keeps shutting Izaya down.]**

 **[#PowerlessIzaya #FearlessRoppi]**

 _"Whatever, do what you want. I'll be back for the kids later tonight."_

 **[He trusts Izaya with his kids]**

 **[Roppi's stupid]**

 **[fuck you dude]**

Izaya grabbed Roppi's arm.

 **[Awe! Izaya's really trying]**

 **[lol, roppi is on the nose with that statement at 17:22]**

 **[Train wreck Izaya lol.]**

 **['I like you but you can't admit your own feelings' MY HEART!]**

 **[Roppi needs a hug, poor guy]**

 **[Izaya, that is legit the point of the conversation lol]**

 **[Roppi's right. Izaya is dense, aint he]**

Izaya pulled Roppi back. He turned the red-eyed person around and pulled him close.

Izaya kissed Roppi.

Mikado fell over in shock. The comments exploded with new posts.

 **[KYAAAAHHHHHHH!]**

 **[OMG!]**

 **[KyaaaahH!]**

 **[uwaaahh!]**

 **[O*O]**

 **[O*o]**

 **[OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG]**

 **[No way!]**

 **[Izaya kissed him! He kissed him!]**

 **[MY EYES! I need holy water!]**

 **[How dare! That's so cute!]**

 **[OMG! So cute!]**

 **[WHY CAN A BASTARD LIKE IZAYA FIND SOMEONE BUT I CANT!]**

 **[That's right! You love him, Izaya!]**

 **[you treat him better!]**

 **[You better treat him good!]**

 **[Praise god! Roppi will make a better man out of Izaya]**

 **[IzayaXRoppi]**

 **[ship the ships! Ship all the ships!]**

 **[Izaya's so hot!]**

 **[Someone needs to call this Roppi and tell him to gtfo before it's too late]**

 **[Roppi! Izaya is the worse kind of scum you could come across! Do not fall in love with him! Its not worth it!]**

 **[Izaya's just going to play with him then toss him, I know it.]**

 **[Poor Roppi]**

 **[No no no no no no, Izaya is sincere, look look look]**

 **[Izaya wouldn't do this to manipulate someone!]**

 **[He's never had to do it before why would he do it now]**

 **[Run Roppi! Get away from Izaya! Don't be tricked!]**

 **[Guys, Izaya is so sincere here! Look at him!]**

 **[Roppi can probably make Izaya a better person!]**

 **[I ship it. It's official. Didn't even think I could ship a bastard like Izaya with anyone but I ship it]**

 **[so cute]**

 **[Roppi is fucking adorable]**

 **[Roppi has kids! OMG! Imagine what that can do for Izaya]**

 **[Watch Izaya be a better dad than fifty percent of japan]**

 **[Bet Roppi would call Izaya daddy too]**

 **[OH MY GOD YES!]**

 **[if Izaya goes from scum to dad in three months, we'll know why]**

 **[ROPPI ROPPI ROPPI ROPPI!]**

 **[Is Roppi a girl or a boy?]**

 **[Watch him be a hermaphrodite]**

 **[nope, he's an Omega]**

 **[the fucks an omega]**

 **[scroll up the thread]**

 **[Roppi has Izaya's babies!]**

 **[OMG! Roppi gets pregnant with Izaya's babies!]**

 **[Cute cute cute!]**

 **[So cute!]**

 **[They're so goddamn cute]**

 **[NOW'S YOUR CHANCE ROPPI! ROCK IZAYA'S WORLD!]**

 **[go to that hotel room!]**

 **[#IzayaXRoppi]**

 **[Yall are fucking gross]**

 **[Izaya doesn't deserve happiness]**

 **[yes, let's cheer on one of the worse people in the fucking world to get into a relationship where he will most-likely abuse the fuck out of this poor guy. You are all fucking nasty]**

Mikado decided to stop reading.

"Izaya-san…has a girlfriend?"

It was a very hard concept for Mikado to wrap his head around. He wasn't sure how to process it. So, Mikado decided that was enough of the internet for one night and turned off his computer.


	12. Chapter 12

Izaya was none the wiser of the scandal all over the Dollars website. His computer and laptop were off and his phones were currently ruined due to the fountain. Roppi's was also probably ruined. He would have to buy quite a few replacements. Just more to add on to the list of how much he's spent on Roppi.

Izaya came out of his bedroom with two towels. Roppi was already down stairs, sitting on the corner of Izaya's desk.

"Here." Izaya held the towel up.

Roppi glowered at him and turned his head.

Izaya glowered back and walked over to the mermaid. "I don't want you dripping on the carpet. If you want to soak, go to your tank or the bath."

Roppi didn't answer, didn't even look at Izaya.

Izaya rested the towel on Roppi's hands.

Roppi smacked Izaya's hands away.

Izaya, feeling a pit of unbridled irritation seep into his system, threw the towel at Roppi and turned to walk away. Roppi threw the towel back at the informant. It hit Izaya in the shoulder blades without pain and fell to the ground.

"Whatever, Roppi." Izaya didn't look over his shoulder at the mermaid nor did he stop to pick up the towel. He walked over to the couch as he tussled his hair in his own towel.

Roppi crossed his arms as he stared at the informant. Once Izaya's hair was dry, the informant lied the towel over his couch and sat down on the cushions without fear of getting them wet.

"Come here, Roppi."

"Don't tell me what to do."

"You wanted to talk, didn't you?"

" _You_ wanted to talk. I was content leaving."

Izaya glowered at him. "I can't read your mind, Roppi. You need to speak for me to understand."

Roppi glowered.

Izaya sighed. "You claim to like me, however, you decide you want to live elsewhere. Despite how that is quite obviously a bad idea because of _what_ you are. Your landlord would more than likely tell you, you don't have to pay rent so long as you get him off."

"Stop thinking I'm some ditzy maiden, Izaya." Roppi walked over to the couch. He stooped to pick up the towel on his way and tossed it on the cushions of the adjacent couch. He sat down. "I can defend myself now that I'm not high most of the time."

"I don't believe that."

"You don't need to believe it. It's fucking true."

Izaya sighed yet again.

"Fuck it," Roppi leaned back and crossed him arms. "I'ma be blunt. You kissed me and started to avoid me like a fucking kid. I thought you could be more adult and own up to your actions but you're nothing more than a spoiled brat."

"Stop insulting me." Izaya grumbled. "I didn't avoid you because I was being childish."

"Then explain."

Izaya glowered. Why should he explain himself when Roppi won't?

"It's none of your concern now." Izaya said. "It's over and done with. I won't be avoiding you any longer. At least for the time being."

"Izaya, I'm not fucking with your shit. You cannot physically restrain me now that I'm at full strength and I don't sleep. I'm not vulnerable so you have no cards to play. Either you're honest with me or I'm walking out the door."

Izaya glared at him.

"You obviously have never done this before." Roppi said. "But I've played this game a few times in my days. I've done it enough that I know when something's a lost cause. You're not a lost cause yet but you're getting close. I like you. And I'm not going to let you trample on my feelings while you're trying to figure out what to do."

Roppi clenched his teeth, swallowing hard and tossing his gaze to the ground.

"Honestly, Izaya, I wish you would have pulled the ownership stuff from the beginning. You not giving me any form of rights would make it easier for me to dismiss your behavior. I could just chop it up to the pheromones making you unreasonable and hateful towards me. But you didn't. And because you didn't, I'm getting all these mixed signals and I'm starting to get tired real fast."

"I haven't been hateful towards you."

"You called me a fucking prostitute!" Roppi looked up at Izaya. A mixture of pain and anger laced the mermaid's expression. It looked like he should be crying but there were no tears in those lovely crimson eyes. "How the fuck is that not hateful?!"

Izaya felt guilt swirl in his gut. He knew that wasn't right for him to say. But Izaya hadn't thinking clearly at the time, so he wouldn't apologize for it.

"If you're repulsed by me then just fucking come out and say it." Roppi grumbled. "If you view me as nothing more than a monster then fine, I can live with that. But what I can't live with is you. After all, what sane fucking person would want to live with a monster?"

"Roppi, I want you to stop and think clearly for a moment." Izaya leaned forward. "I don't think you love me. You were in a traumatic situation, held in captivity for years. You've been pushed to the point where you may have thought of suicide. You were sad, alone, and desperate for anyone to save you. Then I come along and do just that. You go from being an animal in a cage to a person who can move freely and do what he wants. It's the most common display of Stockholm Syndrome out there. I'm sure you're grateful for what I did but grateful does not equate to love. You've disillusioned yourself."

Izaya looked up at the mermaid. Roppi's stare sent a chill down the informant's spine. He was looking at Izaya with pure scorn however there was no hatred in his eyes. The stare told Izaya that Roppi thought he was ignorant, to the point where it could be dangerous for the broker.

"You think you know everything, don't you?" Roppi's voice was low but even. His emotions weren't seeping into his words. "You think that, because you've read a few books or you've seen it with random people you couldn't give a shit about, you know all that there is to know. You study psychology so you think you're a goddamn expert. You use your skills on some weak-willed person or people and got the response you wanted, which only further boosted your ego. You think that because you can convince a few idiot teenagers or bimbo's with the IQ of a goldfish to jump off a building, you're all that and a bag of chips, don't you?

"So, without even thinking about it, you lumped me together with those type of people." Roppi continued, unabated. "You let me live with you because you saw me as a traumatized person who was interesting. You could learn a lot about this animal that just so happens to have a brain and can speak your language. Without thinking much of it, you let me into your home. You put a roof over my head, clothed me, fed me, all the while you forgot of my inhumanity and became accustom to me as a person. Then you kissed me. And you realized I'm not a human and I can have a vice grip on your sexual desires like a sneaky succubus without even an effort on my part. Without even being aware I'm doing it. You finally realize your mistake and that's when you decided you wouldn't let this get the best of you. You would ignore your carnal desire for me and decided that anything having to do with sexual attraction, or even plain attraction, towards me was due to the pheromones. You decided you could never love a monster because that was ludicrous."

Izaya didn't realize how cold his body was until he clenched his hands into fists. His palms were sweaty but they felt ice cold against his fingertips. He finally noticed that he was broken out in goosebumps and his legs were shaking ever so slightly.

Roppi leaned forward, getting only a little bit closer to Izaya. But that little bit made Izaya back away out of reflexive fear.

"Do you think you're the first person I've loved who's come to the same conclusion you have? Do you think you're special, Izaya? Well, you're not. Everyone's the same. All humans are the same in some way or another. Everyone lies, everyone cheats, everyone thinks they know everything despite knowing nothing. Everyone is the same, no exceptions. All of you, equal before God. Even the choice few like you who think they're above the rest."

Izaya felt his heart sink into his stomach.

 ** _'My own words are being thrown back at me…How…How did Roppi know of my suicide pacts? No, he shouldn't know about them. I've never told him and I haven't done any pacts while he's been here.'_**

Izaya's mind was swirling as he desperately tried to come to a conclusion.

 ** _'Is it…possible Roppi has been observing me? No, impossible. We've only known each other little over a month. That's not enough to figure out someone's character. No no, it has…It has to be the other person he mentioned. The first person he's loved that came to the conclusion I did. He doesn't know me, he's just conforming me to what he knows.'_**

Izaya felt a smile form on his lips—he didn't know that, to Roppi, it looked extremely forced.

"Aren't you being a bit hypocritical?" Izaya asked. "You say I've lumped you in with the people I've hurt in the past, but aren't you doing the same to me? Since I'm obviously not the first person who you've loved that came to the same logical conclusion, you decided that my way of thinking must have been like his so you're generalizing me. That's quite cruel, don't you think? Lumping me into the same group as the son of the woman you were caretaking."

Roppi stiffened and his eyes widened.

Izaya had a hunch. It was a small hint that really had no fruit if one wasn't pulling at straws to reach it. The situation was ever so slightly similar to the current scenario. Roppi was trying his hardest to salvage what they had but he couldn't bear it and left—just like what he's trying to do with Izaya.

It was worth a shot to try and unstable Roppi slightly. Izaya could internally compose himself while Roppi slipped into turmoil.

"The fuck do you know about me and him?" Roppi glared at Izaya.

"Nothing, of course. Considering your personality, even if it was someone's dying wish, your well-being has always come first. So, staying in the house of an alcoholic doesn't seem like you. Unless you felt something for him."

Roppi narrowed his eyes. Izaya hit the nail on the head. And a swirl of jealousy filled the information broker's gut.

Roppi let out a heavy sigh and leaned back. "Fine. I'll admit it, I loved him. His marriage with his wife had started to collapse once his mother got sick. He and I ended up spending a lot a time together and an affair blossomed. Obviously, nothing came from it because he started saying the same shit you've been saying. Which is why I'm baling out before it gets to that point. I can't help that I like you, Izaya. Nothing you say or do is going to change that because that's my decision. I'm not so weak that words I've heard a thousand times over is going to change my mind—"

"How many times have you fallen in love besides him?"

Roppi chuckled. "Izaya, you seem to seriously doubt my age. I've been around since the God's were worshipped, before Christianity came in and took over. There have been many loves."

"How many?"

Roppi glared at him. "If my love is obviously just trauma then that doesn't fucking matter now does it?"

Izaya glowered.

"You can't get jealous and ask invasive questions when you claim not to like me, asshole. This isn't a one-way street."

"Were they all male?"

Roppi reached his hand up in an angry gesture before he clenched his fist tight in obvious frustration. He closed his eyes tight shut and turned his head. "You're not FUCKING listening!"

"There's no need to yell."

"Shut up! Don't talk to me." Roppi stood and walked away.

"Roppi—" Izaya stood and followed.

"I'm done."

"Wait—"

"No, I'm done."

"Roppi!"

"I'm DONE!"

Izaya grabbed Roppi's wrist and turned the mermaid around.

Roppi immediately slammed his hands against Izaya's chest. The informant hacked, his eyes going wide at the sudden sensation of the wind being forced from his lungs. Izaya stumbled back till he was resting against the back of the couch.

Roppi backed away from Izaya, hugging himself slightly with wide eyes.

Izaya chuckled. He had thought Roppi wanted to hurt him in his frustrations, but that reaction showed otherwise.

"And you say you're not traumatized." Izaya said.

Roppi glowered at him. "That…I didn't mean to hit you so hard. I was frustrated, not startled."

Izaya just chuckled, shaking his head.

"Are you okay?" Roppi took a tentative step forward.

"I'll be fine." Izaya rubbed the sore spots on his collar bones. Nothing felt broken, however it had a sting to it. He would probably have bruises later.

Roppi clenched his teeth.

Izaya stepped up to the mermaid and reached out. He gripped the hem of Roppi's coat with his thumb and index and gave a small tug. Roppi cocked a brow as he stared at him.

"Roppi-chan, you and I need to come to a conclusion here. You walking out on the conversation won't give us that."

Roppi's eye widened with rage. "We can't come to a conclusion if you refuse to be honest and aren't fucking listening! I'd have better luck talking to a god damn wall! Do you know how fucking frustrating this is?! You can't take no for an answer! And I'm not going to fucking—"

Izaya leaned forward and put his lips over Roppi's.

Roppi's eyes widened.

The mermaid immediately pushed Izaya away.

"The fuck is that?!" Roppi wiped his mouth. "What are you doing?"

"Let's start the conversation over."

"What would be the point in that?"

"Because we've become side-tracked."

"No, you know what?" Roppi grabbed Izaya's wrist. "You're going to shut the fuck up and listen to me. I'm going to talk, without interruption, to get all my thoughts on the table so you can't nitpick like you have been."

Izaya cocked a brow. "Fine."

Roppi seemed generally surprised that Izaya was quick to cave.

He then grumbled and his grip tightened on Izaya's wrist.

"Here, let's sit back down first." Izaya tugged on Roppi again.

The mermaid glowered at him. Then sighed and nodded. "Fine."

The two went back to the cushions. They sat down on separated couches like before to give each other the space Roppi desired. The red-eyed man then let out a groan before glaring up at Izaya.

"I like you." Roppi started. "There is no changing that. Regardless if you think I'm traumatized, that doesn't change the way I'm thinking. As of right now, you saying my love is fake fucking hurts worse than anything. Because to me, this is real. This feeling is real. And I know it's real because I've felt it before. I've had a lot of loves. I remember all of them, clearly, vividly, but that doesn't mean I'm trying to replace them. Some of them ended abruptly. Some ended on bad terms or I just had to realize that the love wasn't worth the emotional stress. Some ended with religious persecution because they found out I was a monster and some I was able to live a full life with them. I held their hand as they died peacefully.

"But that doesn't mean I can't fall in love or find another love." Roppi continued. "And might I point out, as far as types, you're not mine. I like blonds with blue eyes. Muscular, tall, with a thick voice. German's are a god-sent for me. And as far as women, I like gingers. Curvy, big breasts, soft. All in all, I prefer Caucasians. My mother was an Eastern mermaid so seeing Asian's reminds me of her and I'm not really a fan of having that thought pop in my head. I don't have an Oedipus Complex or anything, I just have a lot of free time to think and shit I really wish I could unthink pops in my head. My mother died not all that long ago, and since then I always see her when I see Asians. It's why I was on the complete other side of the world when that Puerto Rican grabbed me. I wanted to avoid this area.

"You really, _really_ aren't my type. Like, at all. And Nanasaki only confirmed that notion. I like you because I like you, not because of trauma. If it was trauma, I would hate you and want nothing to do with you because you're Asian. I would have killed you. I could have killed you. If I was traumatized, I should have killed you. But I didn't. I didn't want to hurt you because I knew you weren't going to hurt me. That's it. That's all. That's why I didn't kill you back then. Everything you told me when we met was right. If I killed you back then, when you let me out, I would have only made the situation worse for myself. That's why I even bothered saving you because you were my best bet of getting out of this fucking country. I didn't like you when we started, that much is obvious. But we lived together for a bit, you took care of me, worried about me, and you're great with the kids. I don't know if I love you, but I know that I like you."

Roppi looked to the side. He let out a heavy sigh.

"I know I like you and I know that with the way things are going, it's best to cut this short and get out while I can. I don't want to get too deep in a dead-end relationship. I appreciate everything you've done for me, Izaya. I really do. You saved my life and I'm grateful but grateful is not a reason to stay with you forever. I don't know if it's the pheromones or just your true personality coming through but either or way, I can't stay here when you're acting like this. I know to the naked eye, this may not seem like much. But calling me a prostitute, refusing to listen and just hearing what you want to hear, and being completely invasive while you get to be as mysterious as ever are huge red flags of a narcissist. I can't sit here and pretend that if I were to stick around, you and I would be on equal terms."

"It's revolting how much you know."

Roppi's eyes widened and he looked up at Izaya. Izaya was glaring at Roppi with malicious hatred. It confused the mermaid immensely and it showed on his face.

"You've only been with me for a month," Izaya said, "and we barely spent time together. And you seem to know me so well. It's annoying."

Roppi chuckled, taking on a cynical glower. "You like observing, not being observed. I know that."

"I _hate_ that you know that!"

"Why am I not surprised?!" Roppi yelled.

"Stop it!"

"Sorry!"

The two fell silent.

"How long do you think I've been under the effects of your pheromones?" Izaya asked.

Roppi scoffed. "Since you told me to take hydro's. That kinda defeated the purposes of buying me a tank since you knew about the hydro's since the beginning. Nanasaki told you as much. That was the first illogical thing you did and the illogic kinda just spiraled from there."

Izaya grumbled.

Roppi chuckled. "But that doesn't matter with your current behavior. You've cold-turkeyed long enough."

"So, what you're saying is that if I get jealous, it's because of my own desire to possess you. The fact that you don't know whether it's love or objective is what scares you."

"It's not that I don't know. Even if you think it's love, you're acting like it's objective, so I doubt it'll be more than that."

"Now who's rationalizing love?"

Roppi's eyes widened. Then he glared. "Do you love me?"

"I don't know. I love all humans equally."

"I'm not a human."

"Then I can't love you. Because I only love humans."

Roppi looked at him like he was stupid. "If you love all humans equally then by that logic you should be able to give genuine love to something above humans."

"Are mermaid's above humans?"

"Do you consider your headless friend above humans?"

"She's a monster."

"Does that mean she's above or under?"

"Under, in my opinion. She has no form of humanity in her."

"Then what about me?"

Izaya looked at Roppi with a scrutinizing gaze. "...I don't know."

Roppi's brow's furrowed with pain. "Could you...try to love me?"

Izaya was quiet.

Roppi let out a heavy sigh. "It would be cruel to make me continue to live with you if you aren't even going to reject me."

"I don't know."

"What the fuck are you saying that for?!" Roppi yelled. "I wasn't asking a question, I was telling you—"

"I don't know if I can love you."

Roppi's eyes widened.

"I've never really cared for others before. Not for a relationship, at least. I've never dated because I've never needed that kind of emotional dependency for or from others. You're a first. I don't know how to respond to this or how to react."

Izaya leaned forward and grabbed Roppi's hand.

"I don't know if I can love you, but I know I hate the thought of you staying with other men, laying with other men, or falling in love with someone other than me. I want you to stay with me. I want to wake up every morning knowing that I can talk to you for as long as I could possibly want. As of right now, that's all I want. I don't fully understand why I feel angry at you leaving but I know that for the last month, I've sat there and hated you. And I _hated_ hating you."

Roppi stared at him before his eyes narrowed. "That doesn't change that you're a narcissist."

"I know."

"So, you admit you're—"

"I know myself quite well, Roppi-chan. It's part of the reason I'm so annoyed with this situation since I'm doing things that aren't within my character and you're the cause of it. I'm a coward, a narcissist, and a sadist. Manipulating others is part of my job as an informant and I love doing that. I love seeing all of the expressions the human race has to offer—"

"You're the type that, when seeing two people standing on a tight-rope, struggling to keep each other up, you'd enjoy burning both ends of the rope to see what they'll do. To see if they'll save each other or save themselves or try to do something different entirely. You thrive off of the chaos theory, but instead of events, you use it on people."

Izaya openly glowered at him.

"Sorry." Roppi said, glancing to the side as he folded his hair behind his ear. "I tend to cut people off because I'm trying to put what they say into words that I can understand."

"That's not what I'm annoyed about." Izaya grumbled.

"I know. It's because I'm able to—"

"I explain something about myself," Izaya interrupted, "and you easily understand and agree with it. Almost like we've had this conversation before."

Roppi chuckled. "Maybe I've walked with you once upon a dream."

Izaya held back a laugh but wasn't able to keep it bundled and let it burst forth from his lips. "Am I the prince in this case? You seem to look more like the Little Mermaid than a Sleeping Beauty!"

"That's racist."

"I would assume that's speciesism."

Roppi chuckled. He smiled at Izaya warmly. "We got off topic again."

"Yes, we did." Izaya cleared his throat to get the last of the chuckles out. "I'm not necessarily sure what you want me to say otherwise, though, Roppi. I know who I am and I don't really feel like changing that. Despite everything, I'd say I love those parts about me."

"You love being a coward?" Roppi cocked a brow.

"Why not?"

"…I guess there's nothing wrong with being a coward. You tend to live longer like that."

Izaya smiled.

Roppi sighed. "But despite being a coward, do you want to try loving me…or can we just agree to disagree and go our separate ways?"

"I don't want to go separate ways. I want you, there's no change that. I'm not sure what feelings follow this notion, but that's where I stand."

"Can you try to love me?"

"You've already asked that, three times now in fact. And my answer hasn't changed. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. At this point, only time can tell. Once the future becomes the present then I'll have an answer."

Roppi clenched his teeth as he glared at the ground. Izaya waited. He saw a determination fill those crimson orbs before Roppi looked up at him. "If you don't know then here's a simple question that can help you get to a point."

Izaya gestured for him to go on.

"Can you see yourself having sex with me?"

Izaya stared. He was silent as he thought. Roppi waited patiently.

"I don't know." Izaya said.

Roppi chuckled. "Are you a virgin?"

"No."

"Was it with a woman or a man?"

"Woman."

"I'm only asking cuz Japan is really into the gay shit."

"You don't need to justify yourself."

Roppi let out a dry chuckle.

Roppi then pushed himself off the couch and knelt down in front of Izaya.

"What are you doing?" The informant asked.

"If you hate it then stop me." Roppi put his hands on Izaya's thighs, giving the raven a small push to get him to lean back.

"I don't have any emotional attachments when it comes to sex."

"But you couldn't see yourself sleeping with just anyone, could you?" Roppi pulled on Izaya's belt to unfasten it.

"Depends by what you mean by anyone? If by anyone, you mean the grimy old hobo around the corner or the cracked-out prostitute downtown, then no, definitely not. But if you mean the general population of beautiful people, I have no qualms developing a one-night stand on the occasion. I love all humans equally and I am an adamant asexual, but every once in a while, it's fun to see how easily I can twist a woman's affection towards me."

"Were you the type in high school who would convince a chick to break up with their boyfriend to date you; date them for, like, a day then break up with them?" Roppi unzipped and unbuttoned Izaya's pants.

"I've done that a few times, yes. A lot of them gave me the same expression. One of them attempted to slap me. Of course, she missed."

"And you explained to her how you're not a bad person, she's just a fucking sheep with no original thought process at all."

"I was far more delicate. It's nice to see them connect the dots on their own. Self-hate is more interesting to see than hatred towards another."

"You're a sociopath."

Izaya grinned. "And you're not?"

"Obviously not. Sociopath's can't acknowledge other sociopath's. It's part of their mentality that they believe they're the only one or the best of them all." Roppi tugged on Izaya's jeans, trying to tug them down. Izaya's butt kept that from happening. "You wouldn't be able to feel possessive towards me if I were a sociopath. Your dominance and pride would have been brought into question. You would have thrown me out once you realized you and I had any form of similarities within our personalities. Lift your hips, will ya?"

Izaya chuckled. "I was trying to explain earlier, Roppi-chan, that sex is merely the pleasure of the flesh."

Roppi paused. He then let out a heavy sigh and rested his head on Izaya's thigh. "Then is this pointless?"

Izaya stared at him.

Then reached his hands out and put his hands on Roppi's cheeks. He made the mermaid tilt his head up. Izaya kissed him.

Roppi grabbed Izaya's wrists but didn't try to push him away.

Izaya separated. Russet met red with conviction.

"I don't have an emotional attachment." Izaya said. "But that doesn't mean I don't want to do it. If I want to do it with you then that means something."

Roppi stared at him. Then tilted his head down as he held back a laugh. "You're so difficult."

"So are you."

Roppi chuckled.

Izaya grabbed Roppi's hands and pulled the mermaid. Roppi allowed Izaya to guide him so he was sitting on the informant's lap. Izaya slid his hands down and gripped Roppi's rump.

"You know," Roppi said, "in a normal relationship, we should have sex when we know we love each other."

"In a normal relationship, we're not supposed to have sex until our wedding night."

"Heh, no one follows that tradition anymore." Roppi wrapped his arms around Izaya's neck and rested his chin on his arms so that Izaya couldn't see his flushing face. "Sex has become a meaningless endeavor to the young. It used to be a wholesome union, connecting the bodies to prove that you are the one and only for that person, but now it's nothing more than a real fun time that usually is only good for the guy."

"It's easier for men to reach orgasm than woman." Izaya reached further down Roppi's bottom so he could rub his fingers against the jeans that lied over the mermaid's vaginal entrance. "But regardless, even in olden times, within the scriptures of the Bible and many other religions, sex wasn't necessarily a wholesome endeavor. It mostly revolved around the notion that you shouldn't sleep with more than one person because of the bloodlines. In some scriptures, one could even derive that women weren't supposed to feel an orgasm and are only supposed to carry the children of their husband."

"In the bible, but in other religions, _uh_ , in other religions, women were usually depicted as the dominant roll in order to remain in a happy relationship. After, _ah_ , after all—after all, women release hormones that effect the emotion of love if they have good sex with someone—hm!" Roppi tilted his head back.

"You're very sensitive, aren't you?"

"On-only when you touch indirectly. If you—if you made the same motion on bare flesh, it would hurt."

"Are you hyper-sensitive?"

"Probably. Not like, _lih_ , I could ever go to a—a gyno."

Roppi twitched his hips towards Izaya's hand.

"As a being with a vagina," Izaya said, "you should go see a gynecologist regularly."

"Why? It's not like, _hah_ , I can get STD's." Roppi raised himself higher, pressing his masculine chest into Izaya's face.

"Gynecologists aren't only for STD's." Izaya tilted his head back to talk as he pulled on Roppi's belt. "They can check you for cancers and urinary tract infections. They are also qualified for obstetrics."

"The fucks an obste—nngh!" Izaya dipped his hand into Roppi's pants.

 ** _'He's not wearing underwear again.'_** Izaya felt excitement course through his stomach at the discovery.

"Obstetric is any surgery, check-up, or medicine that has to do with the infant." Izaya stated. "Your ultrasound is usually done by an obstetrician. Also, if you have a complication with the baby in the womb and need to do a surgery, it'll be an obstetrician who does it."

"Huh. The more...you know."

Izaya rubbed Roppi's feminine opening.

"Ow, don't!" Roppi raised himself higher away from Izaya's hand. "I just said that doesn't feel good."

"It actually does feel good, but your mind can't process it properly."

"I think that's completely fucking irrelevant if it doesn't feel good at all."

"Again, it's not that it doesn't feel good. It's that it feels too good."

"I'm going to punch you."

Izaya chuckled. He pulled his hand out of Roppi's pants and decided to push the fabric down instead. Roppi's feminine folds were revealed to the informant. Izaya's eyes narrowed at the sight.

"Roppi-chan."

"What?"

"Why did you shave?"

Roppi cocked a brow. "I didn't. Mermaids don't have pubic hair."

"Hah?"

"The bottom half of our bodies are usually covered in scales. Fish can't develop hair so we're no different. It's why I also don't have chest hair, leg hair, arm hair or facial hair. I do have armpit hair but that's about it."

"What's the biology behind that?"

"Like I would know. Maybe God thought armpit hair was sexy."

Izaya laughed. "Do you believe in God, Roppi-chan?"

"I'd rather not discuss that when we're doing the dirty. Regardless of my viewpoints, God is a complete turn off."

Izaya chuckled. "Understood."

 ** _'I'll ask him later.'_** Izaya decided.

Roppi leaned forward and rested one of his elbows on the back of the couch. The mermaid lifted one leg and tugged the pants off the limb, also tugging the sock off. Once the leg was bare, he leaned on his other leg and did the same feat. Roppi's lower half was completely naked as he tossed his pants on the back of the couch.

Roppi then sat on Izaya's lap and pulled on his underwear.

"Do you like being dominant?" Izaya asked.

Roppi shrugged.

"Do you want to be dominant?"

Roppi shrugged again as he dug his hand into Izaya's pink boxers. Izaya pursed his lips to those soft fingers touching his penis. Roppi chuckled and smiled down at him. Izaya narrowed his eyes in a glare at the smug expression on the mermaid's face.

Izaya grinned "Would you rather be dominant, so you don't trigger your trauma?"

Roppi glared at him. "I told you, I'm not traumatized."

"You are. That punch to the chest earlier proves it, even if you refuse to admit it."

Roppi pulled his lip back in an animalistic growl. "I was pissed, not scared."

"You're lying. Or in denial."

Roppi glared at him.

The mermaid then slid down Izaya's legs, so he was knelt down in front of the informant. He grabbed the fabric over the informant's hips and pulled both the jeans and boxers down. Izaya's half-hard erection was exposed.

Roppi tilted his head down and drew his tongue from the tip to the base. Izaya's breath hitched and his toes curled. That simple touch felt so good. But that was all Izaya got as Roppi backed away, casing a glare at Izaya's manhood.

"Back on the note of shaving, you need to fucking get rid of this." Roppi used his index and thumb to grab a few of Izaya's pubic hairs and gave them a pull.

"OW!" Izaya batted at Roppi. "That hurts!"

"Wouldn't hurt if they weren't there."

"Don't do that!"

Roppi chuckled. "I'm telling you now, if you ever want this puss after tonight, you need to shave that. All of it. If not, you're not getting shit."

"You want me to look a child? Should I question your tastes?"

"Only in Japan is shaving pubes a weird thing. The rest of the world calls it man-scaping and it's very sexy."

"Yes, and in some parts of the world, I have a right to cut off your clitoris and sow your vagina shut."

"And in some parts of the world, there's a law against blow jobs." Roppi glared up at him. "Don't try to use half-bake retarded laws against me cuz I can do that too."

Izaya smiled. "I know you can."

Roppi chuckled. "Just so you know, I'm not going to lick this."

"Are you that repulsed by pubic hairs?"

"Yup." Roppi grabbed Izaya's penis with both hands and began to jack him.

Izaya pursed his lips again, his hips shifting as a jolt of pleasure shot up his body.

"Guess it doesn't matter if I use my mouth or my hands. You'll feel good all the same." Roppi grinned. "Try not to come in two seconds."

"I have good stamina."

"Sure." Roppi rubbed his thumb over the slit. "I've seen Japanese porn. You guys last at most five minutes."

"Considering most fish only last five seconds, I'm not holding much expectation from you."

"Most fish don't penetrate anything." Roppi gripped Izaya's scrotums and gave them a gentle massage.

"Sharks and dolphins do. That's what I was referring to."

"Dolphins are mammals and sharks are selachii's."

"They're still sea animals. One's that you're related to."

"I'm not related to them." Roppi leaned forward and kissed the tip of Izaya's full erection.

Izaya hissed, his toes curling again.

The red-eyed raven grinned and pushed himself to his feet. He grabbed Izaya's shoulders to balance himself then sat down on the raven's lap. He reached down and pushed the informant's penis down. Roppi shifted closer so his genitalia was over Izaya's. He removed his hand to hold Izaya's shoulders again. He then began to buck his hips, rubbing his feminine fold against the length of Izaya's cock.

Roppi clenched his teeth for a moment as he tilted his head back. Izaya gripped Roppi's hips, rubbing his thumb against those defined hip bones. Roppi immediately reached down and grabbed the raven's hands. Izaya looked up at him.

"Don't rub my hip bones." The mermaid said.

"Sensitive?"

"Yeah."

Izaya let loose a crooked smile. "Is every part of you hyper-sensitive?"

"Duh. Hyper-sensitivity is very rarely just one spot. It's the entire body."

"That must make sex difficult."

"Kinda. It makes it easier to let people go." Roppi leaned back, putting his hands on Izaya's knees in order to move his hips faster. "If they can't make me cum then I don't get attached easily. Ignoring that hormone we talked about earlier, they're obviously not putting in the effort to make the sex equal, ya know?"

Izaya chuckled. "That's right. But, you know, Roppi, men have the same hormone, the one that induces love. However, it's released when there is prolonged exposure to someone."

"I know." Roppi tilted his head back for a moment, his hands on Izaya's knees tightening their grip. Izaya was aware his penis was relatively soaked with Roppi's liquids. "It's why men are likely to cheat on their wives if they take too many business trips or their wife is distant."

"Yes, but you're a hermaphrodite," Izaya reached his hand up Roppi's shirt. He pulled the red-eyed man close as he rubbed his fingertips up Roppi's spine and back dimples. "Meaning you have both triggers for that hormone. It is possible that you love me because of the male trigger and you're trying to verify that feeling by activating your female trigger?"

"Like I would know." Roppi answered instantly, tilting his head down as his cheeks flushed fully. "My minds not really on philosophical debates right now. It's pointed more towards wanting you inside me and fucking me up."

"I would assume you wouldn't want violent or forceful actions done while we have sex."

"Why not?"

"Because I doubt Nanasaki was a very gentle partner."

"Don't mention that cunt when I'm so wet." Roppi pulled himself back. A string of liquids connected their genitals before the mermaid pulled far enough away it snapped. "I don't want to get conditioned."

"What does that mean?"

"Take off your pants and I'll tell you." Roppi stood.

Izaya stared up at him and chuckled. "I'd rather keep them on."

"Why?" Roppi flopped back on the other couch.

The mermaid spread his legs wide to make sure Izaya had a full view of what was between those creamy thighs. He then put a hand down there and outlined his feminine folds with his index and middle finger. His other hand went to his chest, where he rubbed his collar bone absentmindedly. The hermaphrodite was so obviously posing for Izaya. And the informant wasn't complaining.

"Isn't the elastic cutting off circulation to your balls?" Roppi asked.

Izaya chuckled and pulled his shirt up over his head. It was a bit of a struggle as the clothe was damp and hugged him, but he managed without making it look like he had a problem to begin with. He pulled one arm out then the other and tossed it on the other couch.

"It's a personal preference." Izaya answered.

The informant knelt down onto the couch cushion that Roppi's feet sat on. He pulled down his pants slightly, so they were more around his upper thighs than his hips—giving his genitalia plenty of room to maneuver.

"What, you don't like your ass being exposed?" Roppi asked.

"Exactly."

Roppi held back a laugh.

Izaya lowered his hips so his erection was aligned with Roppi's vagina.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Roppi?" Izaya asked. "If I still reject you, will you be able to handle it? Women are known to getting emotionally attached when they have sex, even if it doesn't feel good."

"I'm not dumb." Roppi glowered at him. "I know that whoever gets penetrated—doesn't just have to be women—has to put a lot of trust in their partner. They let themselves be vulnerable in order to make love and so they get attached. I'm not stupid, fucker. I know how psychology works."

"Oh? Did you take a class or learn from experience?"

"Learned, duh—ah!" Roppi tilted his head back as Izaya pushed his hips forward.

Izaya hissed in pleasure to the mushroom tip disappearing into Roppi's heavenly folds.

"Hah, fuck!" Roppi tilted his head back, clenching his teeth. "Fuck~!"

"Does it hurt?"

"No—pfft!" Roppi turned his head, smiling at Izaya with a pleasurable dazed expression. "Come on, Izaya, really? I gave birth not even a month ago. Your cock's not going to hurt me."

Izaya narrowed his eyes and cocked a brow in judgement. "For someone who just gave birth, you seem to be extremely tight. I didn't prepare you, nor did you prepare yourself."

"That's why I was rubbing myself against you earlier."

"That's not a very effective way to prepare yourself. You need to stretch it out."

"It's not my asshole, you dingus. A cunt doesn't need to be stretched. It just needs to be aroused and it'll be fine. You may not know, Mr. Virgin, but pussies self-lubricate and the muscles relax when they're aroused. Stretching isn't needed."

"I'm fully aware, but considering your hyper-sensitivity, I would assume it would be difficult to make you feel good just with penetration."

"It's fine. Just put more in, ya pussy." Roppi shifted his hips so he was closer to Izaya.

Izaya took on a droll expression. He then leaned forward so the two men were eye level.

"You know, Roppi-chan," Izaya said before slowly moving his hips forwards.

"Hah…" Roppi looked down at the spot where the two were connected, his eyes dilating at the sight.

"I'm not a fan of dirty talk or degradation play. I know insulting people is part of your personality, but would you mind not doing that?"

Roppi's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment instead of pleasure.

"Um…sorry."

Roppi looked to the side, glowering to hide how self-conscious Izaya had made him. The informant chuckled. He leaned down and kissed Roppi's cheek. Roppi closed that eye on reflex.

 ** _'Cute.'_** Izaya thought.

Izaya pulled his hips back. He bent his elbows down to rest on his forearms. He was so close to Roppi's face, their noses were brushing. Roppi reached up and put his hands under Izaya's arms to grip the informant's shoulders. Izaya thrust his hips forward.

"Ow, wait, that one hurt!" Roppi called as he tilted his head back, digging his nails into Izaya's flesh for a second.

Izaya cringed. He worried that Roppi had broken the skin because it felt like he had. He then chuckled, grinning down at the mermaid. "I thought you said my penis won't hurt you?"

"Fuck off, ye smug bastard." Roppi glowered up at him. "You're not going to hurt me by stretching me. You're going to hurt me cuz I have a shallow vagina."

"After having fifty children?"

"Having children won't make my vagina longer, you idiot!" Roppi slammed his palm into Izaya's shoulder.

"Ouch, don't hit me."

"Don't be stupid then!"

"I wasn't being stupid."

"What part of your brain made you think shallow equals stretch—ah!" Izaya thrust. Roppi closed his eyes tight shut, tilting his head down. "Ow, Izaya, wait! You're stabbing my cervix!"

"How do you want me to fix that?" Izaya pulled his hips back and paused.

Roppi clenched his teeth as he rested his head against the cushions. "There's not really much you can do in this position. But we can keep going at it if you want to do it like this."

"What position would you like?"

Izaya pulled out. Roppi pursed his lips.

"We can keep this position if you want," Roppi said, "just don't thrust too hard so you don't stab me."

"I'd rather not worry about it at all."

Izaya grabbed Roppi's bicep and pulled him up while he leaned back. Roppi pushed himself up with his free arm. The red-eyed mermaid now sat on Izaya's lap, straddling the human's erection. Roppi blushed.

"I don't wanna do it like this." The mermaid growled.

"Why?"

"Because!"

Izaya smiled. "There's no need to be bashful, Roppi-chan."

Roppi jolted. "I'm not bashfu—hah!" Izaya pushed his hips up, the tip of his cock being enveloped by Roppi's womanly folds. Roppi tilted his head back and arched. "Uh, amn!"

"Hah!" Izaya exhaled in ecstasy before he pursed his lips. "Lower your hips, Roppi."

Roppi shook his head. "I really don't like this position."

"I do, though." Izaya lied back, grabbing Roppi's hips. "I can see everything like this."

"But you'll hit my cervix like this every time."

"And the notion that you're completely exposed isn't the problem?"

"Of course that's a problem!" Roppi glared at him. "You don't need to see my titless chest!"

Izaya cocked a brow. Then laughed. " _That's_ what you're upset about?"

"Why wouldn't I be upset about it?"

"You identify as a man but when sex is involved, you get self-conscious about your lack of femininity?"

"...Shut up. I doubt you know many people who would fuck a cunt that wasn't attached to a pair of tits."

Izaya chuckled. "You could have just said, 'I don't know many who would have sex with a hermaphrodite'."

"Shut up."

Izaya chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Okay. Well then, I ask again. What position do you want?"

Roppi grumbled. He glowered down at Izaya. His cheeks were a bright red with embarrassment. He then turned his head to avoid eye contact.

"...From behind is fine..." Roppi muttered.

"Behind?"

Roppi clenched his fists as he glared. "Shut up."

Izaya chuckled. But he said nothing as he instead reached his hands up Roppi's thighs. He gripped the mermaid's ass cheeks and lifted upwards. Roppi leaned forward against Izaya and put his hands on the informants shoulders as he let out a moan. Izaya's member was pulled out yet again.

"Well, then, Roppi-chan. You're going to need to bend over for me if that's what you want."

Roppi's blush deepened. "Do—you should use more tact!"

Roppi went to punch Izaya. The informant grabbed Roppi's hand in a block.

"What do you mean?" Izaya asked. "You've been speaking with complete lack of tact since we started."

"Yeah but I'm—that's different. A young man—maiden is trying to show you your love—fuck!"

Roppi went limp and fell back against the couch. Izaya cocked a brow in confusion before he realized what the mermaid said, and what the mermaid had wanted to say. The informant laughed heartily.

"Shut up!" Roppi yelled.

Izaya refused, laughing even harder at Roppi's embarrassment. "You're adorable! Oh, my sides hurt!"

"Fuck you, dude!"

Izaya wiped the tears from his eyes. "Hee, I'm not sure if this is the worst or best sex I've ever had."

"We haven't even done it yet!"

"That's because you're being difficult."

"No—fuck—piss up a rope!"

Izaya chuckled. He then leaned down so he was bending down over Roppi. He kissed the mermaid passionately. Roppi wrapped his arms around Izaya as he indulged in the act. He tangled his fingers in Izaya's black hair to hold him close.

Izaya seperated.

"You can't save the mood with a kiss." Roppi grumbled.

"I think I can."

"Pssh! Well, I guess there wasn't much of a mood to begin with cuz you won't fucking stop talking."

"You were talking just as much as I was." Izaya chuckled. He then sat up and patted Roppi's hips. "Roll over, please."

Roppi blushed, his eyes narrowing in a glare. But the mermaid obeyed. He put himself on his hands and knees with his rump jutted out to Izaya. The informant could see how tense Roppi's shoulder's were.

"Are you nervous, Roppi?" Izaya reached down and rubbed his hands over the mermaids shoulder blades.

"No."

"You seem very stiff."

"Would you just fucking do it already? This position is embarrassing!"

 ** _'I doubt he's tense because of embarrassment.'_**

Izaya grabbed Roppi's hips and brought himself closer. He rubbed the tip of his cock against Roppi's vaginal lips.

"Would Nanasaki have sex with you in this position often? When you were on your aspirins, of course."

Roppi jolted. The mermaid glared over his shoulder at Izaya. "Seriously, dude, don't talk about him when we're doing it! You trying to give me a fucking complex?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Izaya pushed his hips forward.

"Uh..." Roppi arched his back.

Izaya slowly pushed forward until his hips were pressed against Roppi's rump.

"Does that hurt?" Izaya asked.

Roppi shook his head. He lowered himself so he was sitting on his elbows instead of his hands, which forced his back to remain arched.

"I'm fine." The mermaid said. "You can move."

Izaya pulled his hips back slowly.

"Hah...!"

Izaya thrust forward.

"Mnngh!"

Izaya leaned down, keeping his hands on those supple hips. He made slow rolls with his hips. Thrusting in and out, Izaya rocked Roppi's body with each movement.

"Mm! Hm! Mmngh!" Roppi moaned with each push against his backside.

"You still haven't explained what you meant by conditioning, on the subject of complexes." Izaya said with no pause to his motions.

"Hm! Does that...Can't you wait un-until after we're done? Re-really takes away from-from the mood! Nngh!"

"But you said you would explain."

"I said I'd explain if you took off your pants. You didn't—mm!"

"Eh? Can't you make an exception to that? I wanna know."

"No exceptions. If you want—mm—to know, you know the conditions—hah!"

Roppi lowered himself more. He folded his arms in front of each other to press his forehead against them. He spread his legs even more until he had to put his foot on the floor.

"Fuck, nngh!" Roppi moaned. "Go, Izaya, go faster, mmngh!"

"Only if you tell me."

Roppi jolted. "B-bastard! I al-already told you what you need to do!"

Izaya glowered. "But I don't want to."

"Sucks to be you then!"

Izaya groaned in distaste.

"If you want to get yourself off that's fine." Roppi growled, looking over his shoulder to glare at Izaya. "But recall, if you use my body as a masterbation toy, you'll just make me more convinced to gtfo out of your life."

Izaya let out a laugh, pausing his movements to do so. Roppi cocked a brow at him with a scowl.

"When did you learn that saying?" Izaya giggled.

"What?"

"Gtfo!"

"Since you gave me a phone that can connect to the interwebs."

"You learn fast."

"Course I do. I'm smarter than you."

Izaya cocked a brow, his smile disappearing immediately. Roppi grinned at him.

"Did that strike a nerve, Iza-chan?"

Izaya said nothing.

The informant pulled out.

"Mm!"

Roppi rolled over on his side to stare at Izaya properly.

"What, are you sulking?" The mermaid grumbled. "Don't tell me you're gonna stop over a little banter."

"Course not." Izaya said as he sat back against the arm of the couch.

The informant pulled down his pants and underwear. Roppi cocked a brow.

"You really want to know that much?" The mermaid questioned.

"Of course."

"You're a whore for information, ain't ya?"

"Course not."

"Course, course, course! Can you say anything else?"

"Course I can."

"You bitch!" Roppi chuckled.

Izaya tossed his pants onto the other couch, followed by his underwear. Izaya was now completely naked before Roppi. And the info broker didn't miss that the mermaid was looking him up and down, a glint of lust in those ruby eyes. Izaya immediately started to feel self-conscious. His cheeks burned and he glanced to the side.

"Roppi-chan, take off your shirt."

Roppi chuckled. "Why should I?"

"It's not fair I'm the only one naked."

"Should have thought of that first, babe."

Izaya glowered at him.

Then he grinned as an idea crossed his mind. Izaya stood.

"Where are you going?" Roppi sat up. "I'm going to get dry down here if you make me wait too long."

Izaya said nothing as he leaned onto the other couch and grabbed his coat. He reached into his pocket and grabbed something. Roppi cocked a brow.

Izaya returned to Roppi with a grin on his face. He plopped down on the couch with his hand behind his back.

"Hey, Roppi-chan, remember the first day we met?"

"...Yeah~." Roppi's voice was laced with obvious suspicion.

Izaya leaned forward. Roppi leaned back. The informant didn't halt his approach until Roppi was forced to lay on his back and Izaya was looming over him.

"Recall how you destroyed my clothes?" Izaya's grin never wavered.

"Don't you dare." Roppi's eye widened with realization.

Izaya lifted his hand to display a knife.

"Don't you fucking dare, Izaya!"

"It's only fair, Roppi-chan."

"You dickhead, don't you dare!"

Izaya grinned. "Now don't struggle or I may cut you."

"You bitch." Roppi glowered at him but he was struggling not to smile.

Izaya flicked his blade open and grabbed Roppi's shirt. With a delicacy that seemed unbefitting for a violent weapon, Izaya pressed the knife against the inside of the shirt and lifted up. The fabric cut like butter up the entire length of Roppi's shirt. The shirt was now opened no different than a jacket. Izaya then cut the shirt around the sleeves. After that, he cut the shoulders off, so the shirt was completely disconnected. Izaya folded the knife.

Roppi let out a heavy sigh before he sat up. His shirt fell off his body while the sleeves still hugged his arms.

"Cute." Izaya said with a smile.

"Despite the lack of tits." Roppi said with a crooked smile.

"You're beautiful as you are."

Roppi's eyes widened. Then he laughed loud and hard. The mermaid fell back against the couch, putting a hand over his eyes.

"The fuck is that?!" Roppi laughed. "I'm beautiful the way I am? I'm not a fucking teenager that has an image crisis, hahaha! On top of that, I'm a guy! That's such a weird thing to say to a dude!"

"Were your other lovers disturbed by your mixed gender form?"

Roppi stopped laughing and lifted his head ever so slightly to look at Izaya. "Why do you ask that?"

"Because—"

"No, you don't need to explain." Roppi took his hand off and turned his head to look at the back of the couch. "I keep forgetting that you're just as observant as I am."

Izaya chuckled. The informant would have thought it was Roppi who was as observant of Izaya, but he decided to keep that to himself. Izaya put his arm down and caressed the side of Roppi's face. He gave a small tug to turn the mermaid's head. Roppi cocked a brow. Izaya leaned down and kissed him.

The informant separated.

"Just know that your hermaphroditic body isn't a turn off, Roppi-chan." Izaya said. "So, stop bringing up your lack of breasts. It doesn't bug me."

Roppi glowered at him. "Your kissing game is shit."

Izaya's eyes widened. Then he held back a laugh. "You're the type that tries to ruin the mood when you're embarrassed, aren't you?"

"Piss up a rope."

"I'd rather not."

Roppi rolled his eyes. "Just so you know, you should use tongue when you kiss."

"I'd rather not do that either."

Roppi cocked a brow. "The fuck is that?"

"The mingle of saliva is distasteful."

"You tried to tongue me the first time you kissed me."

"That was the pheromone's messing with my senses."

Roppi chuckled. "Further proof that you're not under their influence now."

Izaya was quiet for a moment. "Roll over, Roppi-chan. Unless you want me to do missionary again."

"Psssh! So blunt!"

Roppi laughed but did as told. He returned to his previous position on his hands and knees with his ass turned towards Izaya.

"Fair warning, love." Roppi said, looking over his shoulder at Izaya. "If you pull out again, I'm going to just get myself off."

"Is that a threat or a promise?"

"Both."

Izaya chuckled. He gripped Roppi's hips anew and positioned his cock to enter.

"Understood, Roppi-chan."

Izaya pushed in once again.

"Hm!"

Izaya closed one eye in slight pain. Roppi was right when he stated earlier he would dry out. The mermaid was barely lubricated now, which was causing a chafing sensation against his cock.

"Ow..." The informant muttered as he pulled back and pushed back in.

"If it hurts for you, it hurts for me too." Roppi said, bending his arms again to rest his elbows against the cushions. "Just keep pushing in. It'll lubricate as you go."

"I know. If it hurts too much, tell me."

"Please, I can handle a little dryness."

"I'm saying you don't need to handle it." Izaya pulled his hips back and pushed forward.

"Hm!"

The raven was getting some leeway now. Roppi's insides were starting to become wet, making it much easier and far less painful for Izaya to push his cock in. Soon, Roppi was completely lubricated once again and Izaya was in to the hilt.

Both Roppi and Izaya let out a heavy breath of ecstasy.

"Does it feel good, Roppi-chan?" Izaya asked.

"Please don't do that." Roppi grumbled in response. "If it didn't feel good, you'd know. You're asking either because your insecure or you're bragging. Both are unappealing and sad."

Izaya laughed. "Actually, I'm just curious. The notion of being penetrated being pleasurable always seemed a bit strange. I, of course, understand the fundamentals of the clitoris and the way it's shaped and the sort. But the thought that penetration is what feels so good is a bit alien to me."

"That's because you're a guy through and through. Being sodomized is difficult as fuck to make the one taking it feel good—mmngh!" Izaya began to thrust, causing Roppi to arch his back. "For a guy, the prostrate has to be stimulated to fuck and that's only if they're not frigid. Ahh, fuck!"

Roppi lowered himself so his chest was pressed to the ground and his ass was in the air. Izaya gave no pause to his movements.

"So-sodomizing go-goes against biology so it takes a shit ton to ma-make it feel good. More of—often than not, guys need-need to get to pro—hah~!—prostate resets. You-you japs with your porn mangas and shit make it look like all you need—ahh!—need to do is st-stick it in, eve-even if they're a virgin, and it'll f-feel good. It's a-annoying as fuck cuz you've got ki-kids who read that and st-start thinking that and it, hah ah! They-they try it out and hu-hurt each other, s-some even causing-causing internal bleeding—oh fuck, ah fuck!"

Roppi arched his back, clenching his fists against the sofa as he tilted his head back.

"Izaya, fuck!"

Izaya grinned. "You're faltering, Roppi. Won't you continue with your lecture?"

"Nnggh! Di-dick head, ah!"

Izaya chuckled before leaning down. He gripped Roppi's wrists hard and pulled the red-eyed raven onto him hard.

"Aaaah! Izaya! Harder!"

Izaya blushed. He really wasn't a fan of dirty talk, but he'd make an exception for Roppi and do as he asked. Izaya leaned up and pulled his hips back father. He then pulled Roppi back onto him with as much strength as he thought appropriate without hurting Roppi or himself.

"AAAHH! Ahh fuck, fuck! Yeah!"

Roppi tilted his head down, turning it so he could look over his shoulder at Izaya. The mermaids red eyes were half-open with lust glazing over those beautiful orbs.

"Feels fucking great!" Roppi said through deep pants of breath. "Izaya!"

Izaya swallowed hard. **_'Wow, he's gotten really into it.'_**

Izaya tilted his head back with a hiss. A cluster of sensations built under Izaya's stomach. A coil began to form. A coil of pure pleasure that desperately wanted to be released. The more Izaya moved his hips, the more that coil began to head towards that goal.

 ** _'So good. He feels so amazing. So tight and wet and sultry. He feels just like a virgin rather than an experienced mother. He smells incredible. Is this his natural odor or is it the pheromones?'_**

Izaya closed his eyes as he leaned forward.

 ** _'I don't care. I just want more of him.'_**

"Roppi-chan, you stopped talking." Izaya said in a low voice that was barely above a whisper. "You were saying, about why penetration feels good. Might I point out, sodomization isn't the same as penetrating a woman."

"Huh, I don't...Nnngh! Pe-penetration feels—it feels good because—I know what sodomizing is! So-Sodom and Gamorrah, ah! Un-unnatural or unorthodox penetration, us-usually classified as-as anal."

"I notice you tend to explain things after saying you know what it is."

"I'm-I'm ju-just proving I know—I know!"

Izaya chuckled, his cheeks feeling flushed as that coil of pleasure became tighter and tighter in his lower region. "I see. Well, you were saying, Roppi?"

"A-about pen-pen—"

"Penetration feeling good."

"Mm-hm! Mm!" Roppi tilted his head down. "It's the sensation of being done! It-it's the anticipation that, that you'll be filling me with your cum! You...you don't even need to move and I can—I can feel you twitching inside and it feels so good. Fi-fill my pussy with your cum and make a mess of me. It's a…bio-biological ph-phenomenon. A wo-woman's body wants to be impregnated, regardless of what the woman's mind wants. It-it's just how they are biologically structured. So, so when a woman is penetrated, their body enjoys the act to the fullest and-and makes it easier for the man to reach orgasm."

"Are you saying a woman's body is meant for men?"

"No shit, sherlock, ah! It's just how biology works. It-it's why animals don't have a concept like r-rape because the fe-female body is meant to bear children. It's wh-why women self-lubricate and feel good to having a cock inside. It's—It's Man that began bri-bringing in concepts—oh, fuck—bringing in con-concepts—ahn! Iz-Izaya grab my shoulders. You can pu-pull harder if you do that!"

Izaya cocked a brow in curiosity but did as advised. He gripped both of Roppi's shoulders and pulled the red-eyed he-she onto him.

"Yeah, like that!" Roppi called. "Fuck, wanna cum!"

"You or me?"

"Both. It feels orgasmic to have someone cum inside! It's so good!'"

"Another biological phenomenon?"

"Of course. The-the only thing that isn't a-a natural phenomenon is-is when a girl or guy plays with the clit."

Izaya chuckled. "Are you saying that those religious people are right, that a woman's orgasm is against God?"

"Of course fucking not. Those people are idiots, nngh! If-if God didn't want girls to have orgasms He wouldn't had made penetration feel so-so good, nor would-would He have made the clitoris a-a thing. Hah! Cu-cuz a clit is-is basically a tiny penis that ha-hasn't formed comple-pletely and all in-infants are start out as women be-before they get that extra chromosome. An-and keep in mind, wo-woman are set up so that they ac-actually have to enjoy the sex in—hoh!—order to cum. Guys can't just stick it-it in and expect the girl to cum. Women actually have to like their partner—their partner and want to have a part in the sex. It's why—It's why rape is a fruitless and-and bar-barbaric endeavor."

 ** _'It's quit impressive how he can stay so focused with what he's saying and still be into the sex.'_** Izaya thought.

The informant let out a heavy sigh of ecstasy. "You know, Roppi, by your logic, rape is kind of like a double-edged sword for women, don't you think?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I mean women have to enjoy the sex to reach orgasm, so when a woman ends up reaching orgasm while being raped, it creates complexes and irrefutable shame because they enjoyed it. They liked it and they're upset they liked it."

"N-no. No woman tr-truly enjoys rape. They enjoy the forceful aspect behind it. Having someone be rough with you and dominate you. It's not the same as enjoying rape. Be-because sure as shit, no woman enjoys being fucked in a dirty alley by a man that may or may not have the clap or AIDS or HPV and may or may not kill you afterwards. No one enjoys that. R-rape in a controlled environment is different than having all your control stripped from you. Rape roleplays are hot as fuck for the person in it be-because it's like being done by a Domineer while getting to t-tell someone no or-or stop. No or stop are-aren't the safe-words so they-they can say them all they want. But once the-the actual safe-word is said, everything is put on hold. It's a different stab at BDSM. Actual rape is disgusting and sickening and is only a quick please for the man. And sur-sure as shit it's not the best orgasm that man has had."

"Depends, Roppi. Some men get off on stripping people of their control. Making their partner cry underneath them and drawing blood. Some people can't reach orgasm without those aspects."

"Those bastards are sick psychopath's who are completely fucked up in the head."

Izaya chuckled, taking note that there was no stutter from pleasure in that statement. "Allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment. What about the cases when the man was completely ordinary, never even touched that kind of kink before? But then, say, their sister was raped and killed right in front of them and that led to this development in sexual tastes? Are they still sick psychopath's?"

"No, they're just fucking stupid, mm!" Roppi tilted his head back. "No, I shouldn't say stupid. I'd get hit if I sa-said that."

"I wouldn't hit you."

"Not you. A-a friend—a friend of mine. Mnngh! He-he went through-through something kind-kind of along th-that line."

"Oh? That sounds like an interesting tale—hah, Roppi!" Izaya's hand's slunk down Roppi's body to grab the red raven's bicep and the back of his neck.

"Nngh!" Roppi tilted his head down. Then chuckled. "Yo-you seem to be faltering a bit, Iza-chan. Do-do I feel that good? Am I th-that distracting?"

Izaya paused his movements. Roppi let out an audible whine. Izaya leaned down and kissed the back of Roppi's neck.

"Aggh! Aahh! D-d-d-don't!" Roppi tilted his head back. "Sen-sensitive! Sensitive! Eeep!"

Izaya drew his tongue down Roppi's shoulder blades.

"Huh...!" Roppi began to melt. His chest rested fully against the couch, his hips began to lower. "Izaya, you di-dickhead!"

Izaya pulled his mouth away and leaned back. He grabbed Roppi's hips, letting his fingers rub over the defined bones that protruded against the flesh. He lifted them up. With time to spare, Izaya devoured the sight before him. Roppi, flushed and sweaty, had his hips in the air with his chest to the cushions and was panting in ecstasy. He looked no different than a cat in heat. Izaya couldn't help but chuckle at the irony that a fish looked like a cat.

Izaya began to thrust again.

"Aaah! Oh, fuck!" Roppi moaned through clenched teeth. "Fuck, fuck! Uh!" He tilted his head down and began to pant heavily. "Izaya, it's so good! You feel so good!"

"So do you." Izaya panted. "Feels amazing. And you smell so good."

"Th-that's the-the pheromone's." Roppi reached back and grabbed Izaya's wrist. He grinned at Izaya, but the grin didn't reach his eyes—the red orbs were encased in nothing but pleasure. "D-don't worry, it's not-not like my pheromone's have an aphrodisiac effect or any-anything. If you go crazy, th-that's on you."

"That's nice to know."

Izaya slammed forward hard.

"AAAHH!" Roppi dug his nails into Izaya's wrist momentarily before putting his hand on the cushion.

Izaya felt his wrist become uncomfortably warm and wet. But the informant couldn't be bothered to investigate as he would rather indulge in the person before him.

"So, continuing where you left off." Izaya said, his hips still moving against Roppi's body. "Your friend and why that person is stupid."

"He's not-not stupid. He's just misguided. Wha-what it is, on the note of the example you-you gave. The man who-who saw his sister get raped and murdered. I'm-I'm assuming that you brought that concept up under the g-guise that that man became a rapist. Hy-hypothetical, of course, heh, heh heh." Roppi looked over his shoulder at Izaya. "I'm sure this isn't an analogy of you. Or is it?"

"Of course not, Roppi-chan. I love all human's equally."

"Of course. You love all humans equally. But you also love the many faces humans have to offer, which is why you enjoy watching two people's reaction as they balance on a tight rope and you burn both ends. By that logic, you would love to see how a person responds to rape."

Izaya held a crooked grin, glaring down at his inhuman companion who, once again, didn't stutter. The info broker stopped thrusting. Roppi glanced over his shoulder to stare at him.

"I understand where you're coming from," Izaya stated, casting Roppi a slight glower. "but this isn't an analogy, I can assure you. As I stated before, I was an adamant asexual until you arrived. Nor did I hire others to rape girls. Regardless of my desires to see all the faces humans have to offer, I see rape as an appalling and senseless act."

"You didn't use other girls as my replacement while we were separated, did you?"

Izaya cocked a brow. **_'He believed me immediately without question. Or is he more concerned about my affection rather than whether or not I'm that disgusting? I hope that's not his actual morale.'_**

"Of course not." Izaya answered. "I was trying to ignore my desires."

Roppi chuckled. "Well, it's not like I have a way of knowing if you're lying to me or not."

"I can assure you, I'm not lying."

 ** _'Roppi has such a strong personality. It'd be disappointing if he has such a weak will and is that desperate for love.'_**

"Now let us return to the subject." Izaya beamed. "I'd like to hear your explanation before I cum."

"Pwahahaha! Do you get off on information gathering?"

"No, but I'm worried we'll forget about this topic until tomorrow. In which case, Namie will be here, so discussing it with her in the room would make her uncomfortable and she would most-likely demand we stop until she's gone. In which, we'll forget again and again until eventually, we permanently forget about it. Critical thinking is best spoken off the top of the head, not left to stew for days on end. They lose their edge, their flavor—so to speak."

"Hee hee, you're foking weird, mate." Roppi said with a thick British accent.

Izaya chuckled. He began to thrust again.

"Mm, o-okay." Roppi moaned. "So-so the man that raped his sister—"

"No, he saw his sister get raped and killed. He then became a rapist himself, killing them afterwards."

"Ah, s-so he reenacts the-the events that happened to his sister."

"Correct."

"Mm, s-so, hm!" Roppi bent his arm up to grab the hair on the top his head, resting his cheek against his other arm that he had folded to make an arm pillow. "S-so, he saw his sister get raped and killed, started r-raping and killing girls, as well. Se-see, he was misguided. Most-most-likely he let the sight of his sister confuse him. The-the only reason he would become a rapist himself is be-because his body had responded to the sight. He most-likely got turned on by the brutal display before him. He di-didn't realize he had a kink for pinning down or forceful play. Something in particular had turned him on, it didn't necessarily have to be the rape—how do I explain this right without sounding like I'm-I'm pulling at straws. Mm!"

Roppi rubbed his mouth into his forearm.

"B-basically, what I'm trying to say is that his mind—his mind dealt with the trauma in the easiest-easiest way it could. The mind will do-do that. That's...why some people don't remember traumatic events from-from their childhood, because they're mind isn't strong enough to process what they saw so-o they shut them away until they can handle it. Some people don't have—ah!—that luxury. Some are too old, so-so their mind tells them they can—nngh!—handle it and they remember everything to a descriptive detail. Hah!"

Roppi tilted his head back, his hand falling to his shoulder.

"Ah, fuck!"

"Focus, Roppi-chan."

"Eat shit and die. You're—ahn!—sadistic!"

"A little bit. But I don't think you mind it, do you? You enjoy it a little rough, don't you, Roppi?" Izaya reached forward and grabbed the back of Roppi's neck.

"Piss up a rope." Roppi grabbed Izaya's hand. "D-don't take what I'm about to say as an-an analogy of me. If-if you do, I'll give you a-a fucking black eye."

"Understood. Now continue." Izaya thrust his hips hard.

"Oh!" Roppi's hips shook for a moment. "Fuck! O-okay, okay! Hah, s-so-so, bas-basically, the guy. What happened to the guy was his mind trying to take—make sense of his—of his trauma. His mind was trying-trying to make it less painful for-for him, so it decided to tell him that it was okay to be turned on by this. It's like when someone's brai-ain tells them it'll be okay despite them bleeding out. It's a protective protocol of the mind. Nngh! So, when his si-sister was being raped in front of him, his mind-mind told him to focus on that one thing that he may have like. Ma-maybe it was the hair-pulling or-or the hand around the-the throat. Something that turned him on towards—turned him towards the forceful play. It may not have been that he even liked forceful play, b-bu-but he liked that one as-aspect of it and that one aspect was over-overlapped by the-the rest of the thin-things he ha-hated, s-so his brain to-told him he liked all-all of it. I'm grasping at straws again, fuck!"

Roppi growled in frustration.

"His fucking mind was weak, and he couldn't handle the trauma before his eyes!" Roppi yelled. "So, his mind twisted the trauma into a positive and in order to deal with said trauma, he began reenacting it with other girls! It was the only way his weak-ass mind could cope!"

Roppi looked over his shoulder at Izaya again.

"Satisfied?!"

Izaya grinned. Then leaned down and kissed the back of Roppi's sweaty head. "You did good."

"If you say you'll reward me, I'll fucking—AAAH!"

Izaya grabbed Roppi's bicep and pulled the red raven onto his cock hard.

"Come now, Roppi, I have more tact than that." Izaya said through groans as he slammed his hips into Roppi. "I'll just reward you without telling you."

"Aaah, aaah, haaah, aaahhn!" Roppi moaned into each thrust.

The mermaid grabbed Izaya's hand on his neck and arm holding his bicep tightly. Roppi struggled to find a grip with the hand around his upper arm—as his arm, when bent, gripped his own shoulder—until he put his arm back and gripped Izaya's elbow. He then hooked the fingers of his other hand around Izaya's index and middle finger that were wrapped around his neck. The informant thrust into Roppi with abandon, slamming against the red raven's backside with as much force and vigor as he could muster.

"Iza-Izaya! Fuck, fuck! Oh, fuck!"

"Roppi!"

"Nnggh! Hnngh! So—fuck, so good! I'm gonna cum! Don-don't stop! Don't stop thrusting, pl-please!"

Izaya clenched his teeth hard. Those words were like a trigger for him orgasm. The coil threatened to spring out. Izaya looked up at the ceiling and tried to think of something that turned him off. Not permanently, but just long enough that he could fulfill Roppi's demand. He glanced around the room quickly.

His eyes fell on the bookshelf. The bookshelf had many of books. And although Izaya couldn't see it, he knew that the dullahan head was on that shelf. Izaya became instantly self-conscious, which made that peak of orgasm descend away from the raven. Not far enough away that he couldn't easily reach it again. But just enough that he could last for Roppi.

Izaya returned his attention back to his mermaid. Roppi was moaning with each thrust. His whole body was flushed, trembling in pleasure, and covered in a thin layer of sweat. He was pushing his hips back against Izaya with his head low to the cushions again. He was biting into said cushion, his eyes closed and a thin layer of saliva trailing down his blood-red lips.

"Nnnngh! Hnngh, mmnn! Izaya!" Roppi called between gasps. "Izaya! Izaya!"

"Roppi, I'm close...!"

"Cum-cum inside me, Izaya! Cum in-in me! I wan-want to feel you!"

Izaya eyes widened to the call. He couldn't hold back anymore. He let himself be encased by the pleasure Roppi's body gave him. He pushed down on the body parts he held, thoroughly pinning Roppi's top half to the cushions. Roppi's moans only raised an octave to the act as his hands found purchase in the leather of the couch.

The coil that had been building up under Izaya's belly sprung loose. Immediately, the informant felt an intense burst of pure ecstasy take over the very core of his being as he thrust in as hard and as deep as he could into his inhuman partner. He felt spurts of semen spray from the tip of his cock, filling Roppi with what he had asked for. Izaya was in pure, orgasmic bliss.

Roppi followed the informants example, letting out a moan that sounded more like a scream as the muscles of the mermaid's vagina clamped down on Izaya's cock almost as tight as a vice-grip. Roppi's feminine entrance greedily sucked in Izaya's sperm, pulsing around the member to try and milk more out of him.

Izaya's orgasm ended when he had no more cum to give Roppi, but the mermaid-turned-human seemed to still be reeling from his as he continued to clamp around Izaya. The raven couldn't pull out even if he wanted to. Roppi was just too tight. Izaya wasn't sure if the pain he felt was because he was feeling a pleasure too much for him to handle or if Roppi was cutting off circulation to his cock.

Finally, Roppi came down from his high and became limp against the sofa. The informant wasn't sure how Roppi could keep his hips up still. He was shaking hard, his toes were curling and he was panting heavily. Izaya held those hips gently and began to pull back.

"Wait, don't pull out." Roppi looked over his shoulder at Izaya. He looked completely dazed as he stared up at Izaya with wanton desires. "Le-let your cock go limp inside me."

Izaya blushed to the statement. "I don't think it will go limp if it's left like that."

Roppi let out a whine of dissatisfaction. "Okay..."

Izaya chuckled. **_'Cute.'_**

The informant leaned down and kissed Roppi's cheek. "You're cute."

Roppi glowered at him. Izaya couldn't tell if that blush on his cheeks was already there or if his words had embarrassed Roppi to that degree.

"Shut the fuck up." Roppi grumbled.

Izaya chuckled again. **_'He's quite the tsundere, isn't he?'_**

Izaya hissed as he pulled his hips back. Once his cock exited that warm passage, he let out a heavy sigh of relief and disappointment. He sat back on his haunches while Roppi rolled over and lied on his side. Izaya looked down at Roppi's feminine entrance. His stomach clenched and his cock twitched to the sight of not only the vagina still visibly pulsing but also the small seeping of white ooze that began to trail down over the mermaid's ass cheek.

"We should clean up." Izaya said, looking up at Roppi's face before he became tempted to go a second round. "Let's take a shower."

"Can't that wait? I'm tired." Roppi groaned.

"You can rest after a shower."

Roppi chuckled. "Don't you know, Izaya? The act of orgasm released a chemical in your brain that makes you tired."

"Depends on the person. Some feel the exact opposite and it makes them wide awake."

"Are you wide awake?"

"Yup."

Izaya was instantly betrayed by his own body as he yawned.

Roppi chuckled. "Come lay down with me for a bit. I like cuddling."

The red-eyed man held his arms out to Izaya. How could the informant resist when he looked so adorable?

Izaya let out a heavy sigh. He then stood.

"Where are you—"

"Just grabbing a blanket, don't worry." Izaya smiled back at Roppi in reassurance.

Izaya walked around the coffee table to the closet by the TV. He opened it and pulled out a small blanket off the shelf. He closed, it walked back over, and unfolded it as he stood before Roppi. Roppi pressed himself to the back of the couch to give Izaya plenty of room. The raven lied down on the couch and tossed the blanket over them both.

The two took a moment to get comfortable, adjusting themselves and the blanket until they found a position suited for them. Izaya lied on his back while Roppi was on his side. Izaya's arm was tucked under Roppi's neck and the mermaid was using the informants shoulder as a pillow while Izaya used one of the couch décor pillows for his own head. Roppi's hand rested on the informant's chest while he curled his legs around one of Izaya's.

"You know, Izaya, you're hot as fuck when you're naked." Roppi said with a small smile, tracing his index finger along the center of Izaya's chest.

"I would much prefer clothes."

Roppi chuckled. "You look pretty sexy in those, too."

Izaya also chuckled. "Thank you."

Roppi smiled before letting out a heavy, relaxing sigh.

"Keep in mind that we can't fall asleep like this, Roppi." Izaya said, closing his eyes as he hugged Roppi close. "We need to clean up and the last thing we'll want is for Namie-san to walk in and see us like this."

"I know." Roppi rubbed his head against Izaya lovingly. "I won't fall asleep. I just want to lay here for a bit."

Izaya rubbed his head against Roppi's in return. "Just for a bit."

The two adults yawned before falling limp against the sofa.


	13. Chapter 13

Namie glowered at the apartment door that belonged to Orihara Izaya. The secretary hadn't heard anything from her employer about whether she was supposed to go to the apartment or the hotel room. She had called several times, but for some reason, Izaya never picked up. That was uncharacteristic of the informant but there wasn't much she could do about it.

In order to cover all her basis, she had stopped by the hotel room. She had knocked and waited for nearly ten minutes before she lost patience and left. She had then headed to the apartment in Shinjuku, where she now stood glaring. She did not want to enter this place if Izaya wasn't there. She had no desire to be alone with those screaming children or the 'hermaphrodite' that had threatened to choke her out. But unfortunately, she didn't know where Izaya was nor did she want to miss work. It wasn't that she was a diligent worker. It was more so because Izaya could be quite vindictive and she'd rather not lose her pay for whatever reason he decided to dock it for.

Namie let out a heavy sigh. She should honestly start looking for a different job. If only she didn't have to stay in hiding because of that damned Black Bike. There wasn't much she could do about it now, but it still left a bitter taste in her mouth.

Namie put in the code for the automatic locks. The door opened and she walked through.

The first thing she noticed upon entering was the haphazard scatter of clothes over the floor and the couch. She cocked a brow. The secretary took her shoes off in the genkan and stepped through into the threshold. She walked into the living room to investigate.

She immediately regretted her decision as she looked down at her employer, a man she honestly quite loathed, naked and cuddling up against the man that had grabbed her throat yesterday. They had a blanket over them so she didn't see anything inappropriate, but a decent amount of the fabric had drooped off them to expose their naked chests and their bare legs up to their thighs.

She scrutinized Izaya.

"Hey." She said.

Neither of them stirred.

She tapped her foot against the back of the couch. "Hey."

Izaya inhaled deeply before he lazily opened one eye.

"I don't think I get paid enough to walk in on something like this." Namie said. "Is this why you didn't pick up your phone?"

"Wha…"

Izaya blinked three times before he finally seemed to wake up.

"Namie-san? What time is…?"

"It's 8."

"Mm…" Izaya sat up, rubbing his hand through his hair.

Roppi's hand slid down the raven's chest to rest on his lap. Izaya looked down to see a soundfully sleeping, naked, Hachimenroppi.

Izaya's cheeks flushed with realization. He looked up at Namie.

"N-Namie-san, now, don't jump to conclusions!" Izaya said, holding a hand out to her as if to stop her. "He's a hermaphrodite, like I said! And you were the one who said I needed to figure out what I wanted!"

"I never said that." Namie said, turning away. "Nor do I care. Just get dressed. I expect a raise for having to put up with this."

"…Right…" Izaya chuckled. "Right…"

"Do you guys really need to be so fucking loud first thing in the morning?"

Namie looked over her shoulder. That wasn't Izaya's voice.

Roppi sat up, glaring at Namie with enough hatred to kill.

"You can talk?" Namie found herself asking aloud.

"Yeah, and you shouldn't be." Roppi growled.

Namie glared at him.

"What time is it?"

"Um, 8." Izaya answered.

"Fucking…" Roppi glowered. "I'm going upstairs."

The supposedly-mute man tossed the blanket off. Izaya's eyes widened and he scrambled to grab the fabric before he was exposed. Namie quickly looked elsewhere.

"Wait, wait, wait, Roppi-chan!" Izaya yelled, grabbing his arm. "You shouldn't—you're completely naked!"

"So?"

Roppi stepped over Izaya, pulling his arm away. Curiosity got the better of Namie as she glanced down to gaze at Roppi's body.

 ** _'So Izaya wasn't lying. He's indeed a hermaphrodite.'_**

Roppi walked over to the other couch and grabbed his coat.

"You should take a shower." Izaya said.

"And you shouldn't cum inside." Roppi glared over his shoulder at the informant as he tossed his coat on.

Izaya jolted and blushed harder. "That—"

"I don't think you'll want to deal with the repercussions _that_ entails."

"You told me to!"

"That was sexy-Roppi. Sexy-Roppi likes his throat getting grabbed and says 'fuck' unironically. He's not to be trusted and you shouldn't do anything he says."

"…Could you have mentioned that earlier?"

"…Would have ruined the mood."

Izaya rolled his eyes. "I said we couldn't fall asleep down here."

"You fell asleep too. Don't try to pin it on me."

Izaya glowered at him before letting out of a sigh. "Can you hand me my clothes?"

Roppi grabbed Izaya's clothes and tossed them at him unceremoniously. Izaya glowered at him as the red-eyed man walked around the couch and headed to the stairs.

"Is there a reason you're immediately in a bad mood?" Izaya grumbled.

"Besides getting woken up?" Roppi glowered at the raven. "My stomach hurts."

Izaya could only let out a heavy sigh.

"It's too early to deal with this kind of headache." Izaya muttered.

"Should have set your alarm then." Namie said, who was already organizing her files.

Izaya looked at her. Then let out a heavy groan. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Yes, do that."

The informant held a crooked grin before he started putting his clothes on.

"Izaya." Roppi called.

Izaya looked up.

"We didn't get to finish our discussion last night."

"Discus—you mean, about that friend of yours and conditioning?"

"Wha—no, dumbass. You never gave me an answer."

"…To?"

Roppi clenched his teeth, looking openly annoyed. "Can you come to love me or do I need to move out?"

Izaya jolted. "Oh! Um…"

Izaya opened his mouth but no words came out. Namie cocked a brow, surprised to see Izaya speechless. It was a first, as far as she could remember.

Roppi scrutinized him before turning away and letting out a heavy sigh.

"I-I'll!" Izaya yelled.

Roppi looked at him.

"I need time to think on it."

Roppi did not look happy with that response. "If you need time to think on it, then fucking yesterday was pointless, huh?"

"Roppi, just give me some time. I'll properly think about it."

"Yeah, sure you will."

"I will. I promise, Roppi."

Roppi glared at him. Then looked to the side. He let out a heavy sigh of defeat. "Fine."

Izaya pushed himself off the couch, his pants and shirt on.

"Roppi," Izaya maneuvered around the couch and headed to the stairs. "Let's shower together. You can take a nap afterwards."

"Don't really want to."

"You need to clean up. You're dirty."

"My stomach hurts. I want to lay down."

"You can lay down in the shower." Izaya grabbed Roppi's wrist. "Just a quick jump in to clean up."

Roppi glared at him. He then let out another heavy sigh of defeat. "Fine…"

Izaya smiled. The informant leaned forward and kissed Roppi's cheek. Roppi's eyes widened.

"Come on." Izaya smiled at him before giving the raven a tug.

The two went up the stairs into the bedroom.

Namie glowered up after them.

 ** _'I really don't get payed enough to put up with this.'_**

* * *

"Sorry for the wait, Shiki-san." Izaya said, sitting down in the car. "This morning was a bit problematic."

"It's not like you to be late, Orihara-san." Shiki looked at him with narrowed eyes. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show."

"I humbly apologize, Shiki-san." Izaya closed the car door and pulled his seatbelt on. The raven looked down at the small, black-haired boy that sat in the seat between Izaya and Shiki. "Hello, Psyche-chan. Forgive me for being late."

"Hello, IzaIza!" The boy smiled up at him, kicking his legs happily. "It's okay. I'm just happy you showed at all."

Izaya smiled at the boy. Haruya Psyche, Shiki's eight-year-old son. The boy had pure black hair and was of Japanese descend with quite pale skin. He followed Shiki's taste in psychedelic fashion and wore pure white clothes. However, his coat had bright pink buttons and pink fur-trimming around the hood and cuffs. The soles of his shoes were also pink. He looked strikingly like Shiki, despite his young age.

But there was one thing that was off-putting about this boy. And it was the reason Izaya was here with them. This boy had iris's that rivaled pink pearls. They were natural, as well as his black hair. The boy was not an albino and even if he was, natural black hair was not an exception of the mutation. For some reason or another this boy was special.

And that specialty is why Shiki asked for Izaya's expertise.

"Well, then, let's get down to business." Izaya said, pulling out a smart phone. "The identity of Psyche's biological parents is still unknown, however, I was able to find something of interest. As we know, the orphanage that you adopted Psyche from was a branch off a Catholic church. Because of such, there were no camera's so no one was able to say who dropped Psyche off on the doorsteps."

"Yes, yes, we know." Psyche said, looking up at Izaya with an expression of impatience. "What's your point?"

Izaya chuckled, smiling down at the child with a condescending grin. "Well, there was one camera I was able to find within visual of the church."

Izaya handed the phone to Psyche as a video played. It was a very pixelated security footage from a block away of a figure going up the steps of the church. The figure put a bundle of something down in front of the doors, banged on the door several times, then ran down the steps and away from the church. A few minutes later, the door opened and a nun picked up the baby.

"It's fuzzy." Psyche said.

"That was the only camera within a one block radius eight years ago. Many of the shops in that area have gone through several changes in owners and companies. Now all of them have security camera's, even the church has security camera's."

"IzaIza, I don't care about that." Psyche looked up at him.

"You're right, I'm sorry."

Izaya pulled out an envelope from the inside of his coat. He held it out to Psyche. The eight-year-old tore it open and pulled out two pieces of photopaper. On them was a picture of the hooded figure from the video, zoomed in and unblurred. One showed a partial of the person's face, the other was the same picture but saturated so the image was brighter.

"I haven't been able to identify him but give me a few more days and I am sure to have your answers."

Psyche glowered at the photos.

"Is there something wrong, Psy-chan?" Izaya asked.

"I don't want to…I don't want to question your abilities, IzaIza."

Izaya said nothing as he merely smiled down at him.

"But we asked you to do this a month ago and this is the best you can offer?" Psyche looked up at Izaya. "Even more so, you're asking for more time?"

"It's not an easy feat to do what I do, Psy-chan."

"How so?"

"Psyche," Shiki said, "that kind of information isn't something for a kid like you to know."

"Why?"

"When you're older, I'll tell you." Shiki rubbed his hand through Psyche's hair, ruffling the black locks lovingly.

Izaya smiled. **_'So, Shiki-san hasn't told Psyche he's the son of a yakuza just yet.'_**

Psyche openly pouted.

"Psy-chan, I know you're eager to know who your biological parents are," Izaya smiled down at him, "but you should have patience. Even if we find them, we don't know why they decided to give you up nor where they are. Do you even know what you want to do once you know who they are?"

"I…!" Psyche jolted. "I-I want to ask them, of course!"

"And what if they don't want to talk to you?"

"That…!"

Psyche clenched his fists.

Izaya chuckled. "After all, Psy-chan, if they were willing to drop you off in front of a church, ignoring all protocols for adoption, what makes you think they'd want to talk to you now that you're old enough to question their decisions?"

Psyche's expression became laced with pain as his fists tightened even more.

"Orihara-san," Shiki glared at Izaya with malice. "You should watch your tongue before you lose it permanently."

Izaya grinned. "I apologize, Shiki-san. However, it would be a bit inappropriate on our part to let Psy-chan believe everything will end perfectly okay."

"That is for me to do, not you."

"My apologies."

Shiki glared at Izaya, all the while patting Psyche on the head.

Izaya continued to smile while looking out the window. **_'I should probably let Roppi-chan know I got him a new phone. And that he owes me since I was late to this meeting because I was purchasing these phones. Should I text Namie to tell Roppi? I don't really want to wait.'_**

Psyche let out a sigh. "I don't care if they don't want to see me."

"Hm?" Izaya looked over at the boy.

Psyche looked up at Izaya. "I don't care if they don't want to see me. And I don't care if they don't want to be questioned. They abandoned me and I have a right to know why."

Psyche's eyes narrowed into a glare while Izaya's brows rose.

"They don't have a right to sit there and pretend I don't exist. I was their responsibility and they didn't even have to curtesy to go about giving me up the proper way. If that nun didn't happen to be awake at that time, I would have died from exposure. They didn't care enough to make sure I lived, just cared enough to make sure I didn't die with them."

Tears began to streak the boy's cheeks.

"I have a right to know why they didn't want me and they don't have a right to deny me that! Not again!"

"Psyche, calm." Shiki pulled the boy to him to hug him close. "You don't need to get upset."

"What should I be getting then?" Psyche growled. "I just want to know where I came from. And it's so annoying that no one understands that."

"You misunderstand, Psy-chan." Izaya said.

Psyche looked up at the informant. Izaya smiled down at him and patted Psyche on the head.

"We understand what you want. I'm sure your father is just as eager to find out where you came from as much as you are. But you need to have patience with the progress of this discovery. Rome wasn't built in a day."

Psyche pouted. "It's frustrating."

"I know. Shiki-san knows, as well. That's why we've been trying our hardest to do this for you. After all, hiring an informant isn't something you can do with pocket change."

Psyche looked up at him wide-eyed. "It's not? I thought it was like hiring a private detective."

"Private detective's aren't cheap either."

Psyche jolted, his pinks orbs becoming huge. Izaya chuckled. Shiki also laughed.

Izaya's phone buzzed in his pocket. The raven looked down to the sensation. He reached into his pocket and turn his screen on and off to silence the call.

"Are you expecting a call, Orihara-san?" Shiki asked.

"No, no. Must be a wrong number." Izaya smiled at him. "But back onto the topic of our mystery man, I do have a few leads as to who this is." He tapped the photo. "I deduced he's a wealthy man or he has a wealthy background, as far of eight years ago. That watch here," he circled the barely visible silver watch with his index finger, "is a rolex. The cheapest one of those is ¥300,000, give or take. Even used Rolex's can cost ¥100,000."

"How can you tell it's a rolex?" The boy asked.

"I enhanced the photo by 200 on my computer back home and was able to make out the logo here," he pointed to the center of the black time-turner.

"Oh. Okay."

Izaya's phone rung again. Izaya looked down at his pocket with a cocked brow.

"You seem to be quite popular." Shiki glowered at him.

"My apologies. I don't know why."

Izaya pulled out his phone. Namie was calling him. He glowered for a moment. Namie knows not to call Izaya when he's outside of the house. Potentially, he may be in a dangerous situation where silence is his only means of survival and the last thing he needed was someone making his phone go off.

Izaya declined the call and held the 'on' button down. The prompt of turn off, restart, or cancel showed up on the screen. He turned off his phone.

"Excuse me, sorry about that." Izaya pocketed his phone. "Anyway, this man has a decent income if he's able to afford a rolex. It's possible it may have been a present, which implies he has wealthy connections of some sort. That may be why you were abandoned, Psy-chan. If this man is a CEO or politician, it's not an uncommon practice for these type of people to remove children they weren't ready for without any form of backlash or paper trails."

"It's a practice?"

"No," Shiki said. "It's not uncommon for the wealthy to do this but it's not a practice. It's just a thing that happens."

"Often." Izaya smiled at Shiki.

"That's horrible." Psyche glowered at the photo.

"It is. But it's how the world works." Izaya twiddled with a lock of Psyche's hair. "Having money acts as a premium pass to the world and all the benefits."

Psyche's eyes narrowed.

"Back on topic, there are about 14,000 people in Tokyo alone that have made a purchase of rolex just this year alone. Over the last eight years, easily a few million have been sold and I had to go even farther back because, for all I know, he's had that rolex for years before this photo."

"Then it's impossible to find him?" Psyche immediately became disheartened.

"Now, now, I did say I narrowed it down." Izaya smiled reassuringly. "The watch helped me narrowed it down significantly. His hair is just barely visible and there seems to be a mark on his wrist."

Izaya pointed to the spot.

"Chestnut brown hair and what looks like a birthmark that he's trying to hide with that watch, I've been able to narrow it down just a bit more. This is why I need more time. What I've done is contact rolex and obtained files from twelve years back, which is again, about a few million. We removed the females out of the equation for now but if we come up with nothing then I'll have to look into this as the rolex being a gift. My secretary and I have cross-referenced 1.5 million over the last month and so far, none of them match this man. Given another week or two, we'll have this list done and I'll be able to give some form of result."

"And if they got the rolex from a secondhand store?" Psyche asked.

"Then I'll get that information too. Cross-reference and let you know the results."

"And if that doesn't work?"

"Then I'll find a new approach. Going through rolex is just the easiest."

"Cross-referring three million purchases is the easiest route?"

Izaya nodded. "That's why my jobs not very easy."

Psyche jolted. "I'm…I'm sorry for doubting you."

"You don't need to apologize." Izaya ruffled the boy's hair. "I just ask that you give me a few more weeks. Whether it's good or bad, I'll have some form of result."

"O-okay."

Izaya smiled. "Thank you, Psy-chan!"

Shiki's phone rang. Izaya cocked a brow as both him and Psyche looked at him.

"Excuse me." Shiki said.

The executive pulled his phone out. He cocked a brow for a moment then put the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Oh, good afternoon. Yes, he is." Shiki glanced at Izaya. "Why? Oh? Alright, here he is."

Shiki held the phone out the Izaya.

"It's your secretary. Says there's an emergency."

Izaya cocked a brow. He took the device from Shiki and put it to his ear.

"Hello? Namie-san?"

 _"Izaya, get back home right now!"_

"Why? What's wrong?"

 _"Your house guest has been screaming for nearly an hour now."_

"Screaming?" Izaya cocked a brow. "Are you sure it's not one of the children?"

 _"Izaya! It's him! He locked himself in your bathroom and has been screaming non-stop. The kids are down here with me. They've just been creepily staring at me and the brunette keeps saying weird things!"_

"Wait, how are the kids with you? Are you in their room?"

 _"No, I'm_ _ **downstairs**_ _! They're here with me! They're sitting on the couch!"_

"How is that possible? Their legs—wait, what kind of weird things?"

 _"Things like, 'Mommy has to pee out an organ.' And 'Mommy's blood smells really good. I think she's bleeding a lot.'"_

"He can speak coherent sentences already?"

 _"He's three! Why wouldn't he be able to talk?"_

"Is he three? It's only been a month or has it been a month-and-a-half?"

 _"What are you talking about?! Will you just come home?_ _ **Now**_ _!"_

"I'm sure this can wait till I'm done with Shiki-san."

 _"Oh my…one minute!"_

Izaya waited. He could hear the rustling of clothes as Namie moved. Within seconds, a blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the phone. Izaya eyes widened.

 _"FUCK! FUCK!"_

"Wait, wait, what's going on?"

That was definitely Roppi's voice.

The screams receded into the background.

"Namie-san, what's going on?"

 _"That's what I was telling you! It's been like this on and off for an hour!"_

"I'm on my way! I'll be there as soon as I can!"

 _"Make it sooner!"_

Izaya hung up the phone.

"I'm sorry, Shiki-san, Psy-chan, I have to cut this short!" Izaya handed the phone back to Shiki while his other hand pulled on the door handle.

"Wait, what's going on?" Psyche grabbed Izaya's sleeve. "Who's screaming? Is someone in trouble?"

"It's a personal emergency, Psy-chan. I'll contact your father to reschedule."

"That's not what I'm worried about! You said someone was screaming!"

"You don't need to worry about it—"

"Orihara-san, would you like a ride?" Shiki interrupted.

"Eh?" Izaya's eyes widened for a moment.

"The next train to Shinjuku is an hour and I doubt you want to deal with a cab that may take you the longest way back to your place."

Shiki looked out the window and gestured to one of his lackeys that stood outside. The man came around.

"Um…well, thank you, Shiki-san." Izaya said. "But considering the situation, I don't think Psy-chan needs to—"

"It'll be fine." Shiki stated as the lackey got into the driver seat. "Consider this payment for the information today. To Orihara-san's apartment in Shinjuku."

"Yes, sir." The man fastened his seatbelt and turned the car on.

Izaya let out a dry chuckle to Shiki's statement. "Fair enough."

The informant then leaned back and checked his phone. It was a thirty minute drive on the highway from Ikebukuro to Shinjuku. He hoped the driver would speed a bit to get there faster.


	14. Chapter 14

Izaya stepped out of the elevator with Shiki and Psyche following closely. The executive insisted that he come along in case the situation was dangerous or if Izaya needed him for any reason. Izaya speculated Shiki just wanted to know the situation for his own curiosity. As for Psyche, he refused to leave his father's side and Shiki was never good at telling his adoptive child 'no' so, of course, he was going to come up, as well.

Izaya rushed down the hall. Immediately, he noticed a woman standing by his door. It was his next door neighbor who he's only talked to in passing.

"Oh, Orihara-san, good, you're finally back!"

"Hello, Minami-san," Izaya said to the woman as he reached for his passcode pad.

"Someone's been screaming in your apartment for nearly two hours straight. I wanted to call you but I realized I don't have your number."

"Thank you, Minami-san. You're concern is touching."

"I could hear him from my living room."

"I'm not surprised. I'll put the situation under wraps."

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know. But don't worry, if needed, I'll take him to the hospital."

"You should take him to the hospital regard—"

"Minami-san, please back off for now. I don't know the situation but once I do, I'll handle it."

Minami's eyes widened before she nodded. "Oh, um, o-okay!"

The door unlocked and Izaya stepped inside.

Izaya was berated by the sounds of Roppi's screamed. Izaya didn't even bother taking off his shoes as he rushed into the apartment. Shiki and Psyche followed closely.

"Namie-san, what's going on?" Izaya yelled as he entered the living room.

"Like I know!" Namie glowered at Izaya. "I tried to get him to unlock the door, but he told me to screw off."

"Iza!"

A little figured rammed into Izaya's leg, giving the raven a Charlie horse with its head. Izaya almost collapsed but he managed to stay on his feet.

"Iza!" The black-haired toddler looked up at him with a smile.

"Hibiya?" Izaya cocked a brow. "You…you have legs. And are naked! Wait, what is this?"

Izaya knelt down. He took off his coat and wrapped it around the naked child.

"Is Tsuki naked too?"

"Tsu's over there." Hibiya turned and pointed to the couch.

The blond baby looked up, a stressed expression on his face. He was indeed naked.

"Oh jeez."

Izaya stood and rushed over to the blond. Izaya took off his long sleeve.

"Put your arms up."

Tsuki did as told. Izaya put his oversized long sleeve over Tsuki's head and pulled it down.

"Iza!"

"Hibiya, I need you to stay down h—"

"Iza! You find family!"

"Wha?"

Izaya looked over at the toddler. He had a grip on Psyche's sleeve with a wide grin on his face. Psyche looked completely uncomfortable as he pulled on Hibiya's tiny hand.

"Hibiya, leave him alone." Izaya rushed over. "He's not my family."

"No, he's ours!"

Izaya cocked a brow. He leaned down and picked the toddler up. "What are you talking about?"

"He's one of us!" Hibiya pointed at Psyche. "He smells like us and he is related to mes. I can feel it in my tummy."

Izaya cocked a brow. Then his eyes widened. Then closed in frustration.

"This is too much getting dropped at one time!"

Izaya turned around. Izaya walked over to the couch and put the toddler down next to Tsuki.

"I want you to stay here with your brother. Here,"

Izaya pulled out his phone from his coat around Hibiya and turned it on. He went to his apps and turned on a knock-off Candy Crush.

"You can play this game. You move the candies to put matching ones into lines of three or more. Okay?"

"Okay." Hibiya took the device. Tsuki leaned over to watch.

The toddler swiped on the screen.

"Don't hit the screen too hard else you'll break it."

"Okay."

"Also, share with Tsuki. Take turns, okay?"

"Okay."

Izaya then stood. He turned and walked around the couch. He rushed up the steps.

"Shiki-san," Izaya stopped on the stairs, "You and Psyche can go home. I'll contact you. Thank you for your concern."

Izaya didn't wait for a response as he rushed up the steps, opening his bedroom door.

As soon as he entered, Roppi let out a scream. Izaya grabbed the ensuite bathroom door. It was locked.

"Roppi! Hey, it's Izaya! Open the door!"

"GRaaah! I—FUCKing can't!" Roppi began to breath heavily, groaning and moaning all the while.

"Okay. One minute!"

Izaya rushed over to his nightstand and opened the drawer. He pulled out his lockpicking kit. He turned and gave a jog to the door. The informant knelt down and used the hand-sized picks to screw with the lock until it clicked. He put the tools down on the carpet and twisted the door handle.

The first thing Izaya saw was Roppi's clothes scattered on the ground. The hermaphrodite was in the bathtub with his legs propped up on the sides. The porcelain white of the tub was stained red with blood. Izaya noticed the blood had a discreet layer of what looked like mucus or vaginal semen. Roppi's hair was wet with sweat and sticking to his face. His face was very red while his knuckles were white.

"What's going on?" Izaya asked, kneeling down by the tub and grabbing Roppi's hand.

"Don't do that!" Roppi yanked his hand away. "I'll break your fucking hand."

"…Right, sorry." Izaya started rubbing Roppi's shoulder.

"Hah, FUCK!"

"Roppi, what's going on?"

"I'm fucking, NNNGGH!"

Roppi's toes curled as his hands clenched against the tub. Izaya noticed some obvious indents in the porcelain from the raven's fingertips. Roppi clenched his teeth hard and his eyes were screwed tight shut. He then tilted his head down and a scream tore through his throat. Izaya's eyes widened.

Roppi let his voice die and began breathing hard instead as his body went limp.

"Should I call Shinra? Or an ambulance?"

"No, no no no!" Roppi glared at him, tears leaking from his eyes. "I don't nee—there's nothing either can do for me."

"What's wrong then?"

"I didn't birth right."

"Hah?!"

"GRRH! Mer-mermaid's, we have—our fin is pure muscle. So…so, when we give birth, the baby go-going through the canal is rea-really tight. _Hah hah_ , So sometimes, the-the umbilical cord is torn on the way out of the mom. If that happens, the…the placenta is left in the womb."

"That…sounds unhealthy."

"It's not that bad. It's not like—krgh!—it's not like it's festering. Ba-basically what happens is after about a-a day or two, I'll have cramps sim-similar to a contraction to push the placenta's out."

"So…does the fact that you didn't have a vagina for about 4 weeks have a negative effect?"

"YUP!" Roppi tilted his head back and let out a loud exhale of pain.

Izaya rubbed the mermaid's shoulder.

"FK!" Roppi groaned through clenched teeth. "It—this feel-feels like-like I'm giving birth all o-over again!"

Roppi hiccupped as tears streaked his cheeks.

"It shouldn't be this bad! It's hurts so FKNG MCH!"

"W-well, um," Izaya was completely shocked, his mind going blank for the first time in a long time. "do painkillers have no affect on you at all? I mean, do they only give you legs or can they actually help with pain?"

Roppi shook his head. "We're strong-stronger than humans. I have a high-er pain tolerance than...you. Us-usually, we don't need things like that."

"So you don't know if they work?"

"S…sedatives works but th-that's only because it knocks us out. Everything else I KNOW DOESn't work."

Izaya's brows furrowed. He felt completely helpless, a feeling he hadn't felt in years.

"Well, uh, um, wh-what um, what can we do about this? Is there anythin—"

"All I can do is push this fucking thing out. I've AAARRGGHH! I've already got on-one. I'm wo-working on-on the othAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Roppi tilted his head back in a scream.

Izaya gripped Roppi's shoulder, not knowing what else to do.

Roppi slumped back against the tub as he panted hard.

"Do you want ice chips? Or something? Water?"

Roppi shook his head. "Just…just stay with me, please?"

Izaya's eyes widened. He then nodded. "Okay. Okay, I'm here."

Roppi smiled at Izaya with adore. "Thank you."

The informant didn't know why he suddenly felt so uncomfortable from that gaze, but his fists clenched and his throat tightened.

Roppi didn't seem to notice as he tilted his head to rest his head against Izaya's arm. The informant didn't stop him. Regardless of his personal emotions, the mermaid could use the comfort.

* * *

Roppi lied passed out on Izaya's bed. It had taken twenty minutes after the informant arrived for Roppi to get the other placenta out. He then had Izaya kneed on Roppi's stomach for ten minutes to make sure he didn't hemorrhage. Izaya wasn't sure if hemorrhaging was possible when he was only pushing out a sack of liquids but he didn't question it and did as Roppi said.

Roppi was fading in and out of consciousness after that. Izaya managed to spray the mermaid down to get the fluids off of him and dried him off before carrying him to the bed. By the time Izaya placed Roppi on the mattress, he was out cold. Because of the situation, Izaya placed a towel under Roppi's hips for precautions. He then grabbed a shirt from his closet, put it on himself, and went to the bedroom entrance.

As soon as Izaya opened the door, the small blond toddler, Tsukishima came around the staircase, holding the hem of Izaya's oversized shirt like a princess holding their dress so he wouldn't trip.

"Is daddy okay?" the child looked up at Izaya.

"He's fine now." Izaya said, walking down the steps.

He sat down on the third step from the bottom and held his arms out the Tsuki. The blond climbed on all four up the stairs to the informant. Izaya picked him up and set him on his knee.

"I want too! I want too!" Hibiya yelled, rushing around the couch.

Izaya chuckled as he rested his head on Tsuki's, fatigue hitting him hard. "Come here then, Hibi."

"I'm coming!"

Hibiya's little legs thumped against the ground as Izaya's coat fell around his tiny shoulders, fluttering behind him like a train.

 ** _'At least he won't trip on it.'_** Izaya thought.

"So, what was wrong?" A male voice said.

Izaya's eyes widened while Hibiya climbed up the steps. The informant looked over to the other couch, barely able to make out a white sleeve out of the corner of the banister.

"You're still here, Shiki-san?"

"Iza! Pick me up! Pick me up!" Hibiya yelled at Izaya, grabbed the informants thigh.

"I didn't think it'd be a good idea to leave you alone in this situation." Shiki stood and walked around the couch.

"Iza!" Hibiya glared up at him.

Izaya wrapped his arm around Tsuki to keep the blond from falling backwards and picked Hibiya up to put on his other leg. Hibiya wrapped his arms around Izaya's with a happy grin.

"Besides, Hibiya had a lot to say." Shiki imputted.

Izaya stiffened but he didn't let that show on his expression. "Oh? And what did Hibiya say?"

Shiki now stood by the banister of the stairs, leaning against the metal.

"They wanted to know why him and we were related!" Hibiya said with a huge smile as he pointed to Psyche, who now stood behind Shiki. "So I say stuff!"

"What kind of stuff?"

"That he's a mermaid and their mother is the person who was screaming." Shiki was glaring death at Izaya as he crossed his arms.

Izaya smiled at the exectutive but internally, he was panicking.

 ** _'Hibiya why?'_**

"The imagination of a child knows no bounds, Shiki-san."

"Who's their father?"

Izaya held his grin.

"He is!" Hibiya yelled, pointed at Izaya.

Izaya jolted. His smirk vanished as he stared at the baby wide-eyed. "That—Hibiya! You shouldn't say things that aren't true!"

Hibiya's smile vanished instantly and his eyes stretched wide. "You're not our daddy?"

"…Well, no, I'm not but—"

"WAAAAAHHH!"

Hibiya screamed as tear began to immediately stream his cheeks. Izaya jolted again for a new reason.

"Hibi, it's okay, hey!" Izaya started bouncing Hibiya on his knee. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"No, I want Iza to be Daddy!"

"But I'm not—"

Hibiya screamed. Izaya openly cringed as it was right next to his ear.

"Hibiya, Hibiya! Wait, I was kidding! I was kidding! I'm…I'm your…daddy. I'm your dad!"

"You are?!" Hibiya immediately stopped crying and looked at Izaya wide-eyed.

Izaya held a strained smile. "Yeah, I'm your dad."

"Good!" Hibiya hugged his arm tight to his little body.

Izaya let out a heavy sigh as he tilted his head back.

"Iza," Tsuki tugged on Izaya's sleeve.

"Yeah?"

"Can I see mommy?"

"He's sleeping right now."

"Can I still see him?"

Izaya looked down at Hibiya. "Do you want to see him?"

Hibiya nodded.

"You have to be quiet though. He's really, really tired."

"I will!" Hibiya nodded vigorously.

Izaya sighed. "Okay."

Izaya let out an exhale before pushing up to stand. He held both babies to his chest and turned up the steps.

"I'll be back in a minute. Namie-san, can you make a call to Shinra? I want him to check on Roppi after all that's happened."

"Sure." The woman replied.

"Shiki-san, I'll properly explain when I come back."

"You better." The executive snarled.

Izaya went up the stairs to the room. He went to the bed, with the intention to let them only look at Roppi from afar. However, Tsuki began to struggle in Izaya's hold and he had to put the blond down else he'd drop him. Tsuki crawled over to his mother and grabbed Roppi's hand. The light sleeper didn't stir; Izaya wasn't surprised as Roppi was completely exhausted. Tsuki got underneath the blankets and cuddled up to Roppi.

Hibiya let out a yawn and rested his head on Izaya's shoulder.

"You want to lay down too?" Izaya asked in a quiet voice.

Hibiya shook his head, holding Izaya's shirt tightly.

Izaya chuckled. "Okay."

Izaya sat down on the bed and maneuvered himself so he was lying back against the headboard and Hibiya was lying on his chest. Izaya rubbed the little one's back as his eyes grew heavy.

"I don't want lay down!" Hibiya yelled but didn't move at all.

Izaya let out a monosyllabic chuckle. **_'He cries to get what he wants then tires himself out. How cute.'_**

"I don't wanna!"

"Hibiya, you need to be quiet. You'll wake mommy."

"I don't wanna!"

Izaya just rubbed the babe's back.

Hibiya was out in minutes.

Now was the challenge of getting out from under Hibiya without waking him. Izaya held the babe close to his chest and very slowly rolled over on his side. Hibiya didn't stir. Izaya pulled his hands away. Still no stir. Izaya shimmied off the bed. Still no stir.

Izaya let out a sigh of relief. He noticed Tsuki was still wide awake and staring at Izaya. The informant waved good-bye to the baby. Tsuki waved back. Izaya turned to the door.

The informant closed the wooden panel as quietly as he could.

"Okay." Izaya said as he descended the steps. "Sorry for the wait."

"Where are the kids?" Shiki asked.

"Sleeping."

"With the mermaid?"

Izaya's smile became strained. "Shiki-san, you shouldn't believe everything a child says."

"I don't really care for what the kid said. I care for what the mother said."

Izaya tilted his head in confusion. "You haven't met the mother, though."

"Didn't have to. The video said it all."

Izaya's smile faded as he cocked a brow, standing at the bottom of the stair's now. "Video?"

Shiki chuckled. "Have you not been on the Dollars site recently, Orihara-san?"

Izaya's eyes narrowed.

"You had an argument with a man claiming to have 'swam with Poseidon' because he's a mermaid."

Izaya's eyes widened. He then let out a heavy sigh as his rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index. "Right. I saw all the phones. Should have known."

"I didn't think you were so gullible."

Izaya looked up at him. "Excuse me?"

"You believe that that man is actually a mermaid?"

"Regardless if I believe or not, the fact that he pulled a bench out of concrete just like Shizu-chan speaks for itself."

Izaya walked over to his desk and sat down on the tabletop.

"It just means that he's similar to Heiwajima." Shiki said.

"And what if Shizu-chan was also a mermaid?" Izaya mused.

Shiki rolled his eyes.

"Shiki-san, how can you be a skeptic when a woman who lacks a head drives around Ikebukuro every day? As well as a cursed Japanese sword taking over other's minds?"

Shiki gave him an 'are you serious' look. "Besides the fact that there's nothing inhuman about that person and the Black Bike and Saika sword can't hide their inhumanities? Those who are unable to grow up tend to call themselves inhuman things. I wouldn't be surprised, from what you said in the video, that this mother developed a complex due to the trauma."

"And the fact that we keep referring to him as 'he' yet he's a mother?"

"Another complex. Or maybe he's a hermaphrodite. Would explain the screaming fit today, if he was in the process of pushing out a miscarriage."

Izaya let out a dry chuckle. "Well, Shiki-san, you may believe whatever you will. I have no pictures to prove I'm right and I don't want to wake the babies just to show you."

Izaya brought his legs up to sit criss-crossed on the desk.

"But as for your previous question, and despite what Hibiya said, I'm not the father. Their father is a man named Nanasaki Yoroshi. Their mother is indeed a hermaphrodite named Hachimenroppi."

"And the reason you have him and two kids?"

"Well, to be fair, I didn't know Roppi-chan was pregnant when I took them in."

"The reason you have them?"

"Why should I give that information for free?"

Shiki glared. "Because that kid just claimed he's Psyche's brother. Went into extensive details of how he's not wrong and his stomach tells him they're related somehow."

Izaya cocked a brow. "Interesting. I'll ask Roppi-chan about it later."

Shiki's eyes narrowed.

"But this is a conversation that Psyche doesn't need to hear. You can probably piece together from the video the kind of lifestyle Roppi was living until I came across him."

"Wait, I'll find out anyway!" Psyche yelled, rushing over to Izaya. The boy held on to the desk and looked up at Izaya with a desperate expression. "If that person upstairs is really my mother then I'll know about the details anyway!"

"Psyche," Shiki said, "We have no proof that that person is—"

"She is. I can feel in my gut! My chest, it…"

Izaya tilted his head. "You can feel it?"

"I…I don't know how to describe it. But I don't think that boy, Hibiya; he wasn't lying. I could feel it."

Izaya leaned down, smiling at Psyche as sweetly as he could.

"Are you sure that feeling isn't just your desperation and impatience to find your birth parents?"

"Positive."

Izaya wasn't expecting such a quick response. So he let out a chuckle to give him time to think.

"Well, unfortunately," Izaya said, "I can't let you see him. He's completely exhausted and I just put the babies down for a nap."

"I can wait."

"I doubt he'll wake up tonight."

"So I'll spend the night!"

"No you won't." Shiki said, putting his hand on Psyche's head. "You have school tomorrow."

"I don't care about school, Dad!" Psyche glared up at him. "If this Roppi is really my mother and she's right up those steps then I'm not going anywhere."

"Psyche." Izaya grabbed the boys hand to gather his attention. "Understand that if you really are Roppi-chan's child, you weren't supposed to be born."

Psyche's eyes widened.

"You said so yourself that you'll find out regardless so here's the sugarcoated version. Roppi and your biological father weren't in an equal relationship. Roppi was a pet and your father did horrible things to Roppi. Some of those horrible things ended up getting Roppi pregnant with a few other children besides you. If Roppi-chan really is your mother, then she might reject the very sight of you because you bring back painful memories for him."

"But, that…is that why he abandoned me?"

"From what Roppi-chan told me, Nanasaki didn't want more than one pet. When Roppi had kids, Nanasaki got rid of them. If I'm right, Nanasaki is the mystery man in that photo."

"Orihara-san, enough." Shiki picked Psyche up.

"Psyche, don't misunderstand. Let me talk to Roppi first. I need to broach this topic with him delicately or he may reject you."

"Orihara! Enough!" Shiki yelled. "We're done here!"

"No, we're not!" Psyche screamed, flailing in Shiki's hold.

Shiki's eyes widened for a moment before he put the boy down—less he drop the boy instead.

Psyche started to cry, clenching his teeth hard.

"Psy-chan." Izaya slid off his desk and knelt before the brunette. He grabbed Psyche's hand and held it in both of his. "I was too blunt. I'm very sorry. Don't despair, okay? Roppi-chan personally asked me to locate all of the children Nanasaki stole from him. If you are one of them, then I'm sure he'll be happy. However, that's in theory. And this is all so very sudden, right after he suffered for hours today. I don't know if he's strong enough as of right now to deal with this emotional rollercoaster that meeting his long-lost son would entail. Please, give me some time. Once I know Roppi-chan is back in perfect health, I'll broach the subject with him and we'll set a date to meet. Is that fair?"

Psyche's little brows furrowed. His teeth clenched and his hand bundled in a fist within Izaya's hold.

The eight-year-old nodded. "Okay. Okay…"

"Psyche." Shiki knelt down behind the boy.

Psyche immediately turned around and wrapped his arms around Shiki's neck in a hug. The executive didn't hesitate to hug the boy back and pick him up.

"We'll be in touch." Shiki said to Izaya, casting the informant a glare.

"Of course. Be safe going home, Shiki-san."

Shiki nodded before turning to the exit.

Once the front door closed, Izaya let out a heavy sigh and lied down on the floor. "Too much. There was way too much to deal with in just one day."

"It's not often I see you exhausted." Namie jested, a snicker escaping her lips.

"Did you call Shinra?"

"Yes. He said he'd be on his way in an hour. Seemed like he was with his father. I heard the bastard in the background."

Izaya nodded. "Okay."

A brief silence was held. "So a mermaid, huh?"

Izaya didn't answer immediately. "…Yeah."

"Is that why I wasn't supposed to go into his room?"

"Yeah. The babies…" Izaya closed his eyes with defeat. Izaya couldn't find a reason to keep up the charades "I don't know why they sprouted legs. I'll ask Roppi about it later. But they were in the tank yesterday. Roppi didn't want you to see them because he was worried you'd experiment on them."

Namie glowered at him but Izaya didn't see that ,what with his eyes still being closed.

"So what happened today?" Namie asked.

Izaya opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling. "Apparently, a complication can happen during the birthing process. From the way he said it, it sounds like it's not an uncommon occurrence. See, all sharks and dolphins are just a mass of moving muscles. Roppi's fin—when he has it—is no different. Apparently, because of how dense the muscles are, when a baby is born the birthing canal is so tight that it tears the umbilical cord from the baby on the way out. If that happens, the placenta gets stuck in the womb for a day or two and they have to push it out. Roppi said that it typically feels like early labor contractions."

"Early labor contractions feel like menstrual cramps."

Izaya shrugged. "That's what Roppi said."

"Those kids are nearly three-years-old. How is he just now pushing the placenta's out. Unless he had a baby recently."

"Those two are the recent babies."

Izaya was too exhausted to try and be coy or figure out a lie to tell. Namie would only pry more so he might as well come clean now.

"So long as a mermaid remains in water, they'll age five and a half years every three months. They were born about five or six weeks ago so it makes sense that they look like three-years-old's."

"That still doesn't explain why he's just birthing the placenta's now. Or why he was screaming so much over menstrual cramps."

"After Roppi had the kids, I gave him some hydros. Painkillers, the chemical in painkillers that causes the inhibitor for pain—"

"Acetylsalicylic acid."

"Yeah, that. So long as a drug has that in it, it makes an adult mermaid sprout legs. Kids can do it naturally as a survival adaptation until they hit puberty. After that, they need to use pain killers to get legs. Right after Roppi gave birth, I gave him some hydros so that we could move the babies away from the warehouse that I had them in. I realize now that was because of Roppi's pheromones, but at the time I thought I was being practical. Anyway, different pain killers have different effects. Hydrocodone gives Roppi legs for three months, removes all forms of genetalia, and makes the pain in his new legs go away permanently after two hours in exchange for one of his five senses. That's why he was mute up until yesterday. He took Aspirin in order to talk. Aspirin is supposedly the worse drug since it makes the hermaphroditic mermaids, regardless of their prominent gender, female, the pain in the legs don't go away and it only last two weeks. I guess taking Aspirin while on Hydro's lets them be female and regain their lost sense with the long lasting pain free effect of hydro's."

"…Are you saying, for the last month he's been genderless until yesterday?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"As in, no opening for anything? Just a mound of flesh between his legs."

"He claims he still has an anus like that but yes. Nothing else."

"How does he urinate then?"

"…That's a good question. I should ask him that when he wakes up."

Izaya sat up with a groan.

"Do we still have coffee?" the informant asked.

"Yes. Can't guarantee it's warm though."

"That's fine." Izaya pushed himself to his feet.

The raven headed to the kitchen.

"So," Namie said, following Izaya. "I'm assuming, because he let the placenta's fester in his womb for a month, that's why it hurt so much more than menstrual cramps?"

"He says the placenta's weren't festering but yeah, that's basically the jist of it."

Izaya grabbed the coffee pot and pulled a mug from the cupboard by his head. He poured himself a cup. The coffee was indeed cold when he felt the side of the mug so he turned to the microwave and nuked it for 30 seconds.

"What time is it?" Izaya asked.

"2:40."

Izaya groaned. "It's too early in the day to feel this tired."

"You have a client at three."

"Cancel it."

Namie glowered. Izaya felt the dagger's in his back.

"I'm tired, Namie-san. Any clients I have today, reschedule for tomorrow."

"You have clients tomorrow too."

"If I have any free time, put the clients of today into those blocks."

"You won't get any break time till seven at night then."

"That's fine."

Namie sighed. "Fine."

Namie turned and left the kitchen.

"Once you're done with that," Izaya said, "you can go home."

"Should I come back here tomorrow or the hotel?"

"Here. We're not using the hotel anymore."

Izaya took his mug of coffee and sat down on the couch. He took a gulp and put it on the coffee table. He then flopped onto his back on the cushions and let out a heavy sigh.

 ** _'Wow.'_** Izaya thought as his eyes closed. **_'What a day.'_**

* * *

 **I honestly thought I'd be done with this story by, like chapter 12. But I think, with the rate of the progression, this is gonna be in the 20's. Hopefully. Please don't end up being 30, lol This story ended up taking a much more serious tone than I wanted it to and I don't really know where to go after a certain point. Got the ending just fine, it's getting to the end that's a problem.**

 **Well see what happens.**

 **Thanks for sticking with me thus far.**

 **Hope to see you again~!**

 **Don't forget to review~!**

 **KCK**


	15. Chapter 15

"Morning, Izaya."

"It's nearly four in the afternoon." Izaya said, clacking away on his keyboard. "I have a client in ten minutes. You should go back upstairs."

"That's the first thing you say to me?" Roppi glowered at Izaya. Then he rolled his eyes. "Right, I forgot. Sociopaths lack empathy."

Roppi then turned around and headed to the kitchen. Izaya glanced up to see Roppi was wearing a pair of black jeans and nothing else.

"Hibiya and Tsukishima are back in the tank." Izaya said. "I got them some food an hour ago, but you should probably go check on them."

"Don't tell me how to take care of my kids."

Roppi went into the kitchen. Izaya heard the fridge open. He then heard Roppi let out a heavy sigh and the fridge door shut.

"Izaya," Roppi turned and came back into the living room. He walked over to the desk and leaned his hands on the table. "Give me, like, ten bucks."

"Why?"

"Your sheets look like your fucking flag."

Izaya cocked a brow. He paused his typing and gave Roppi his full attention.

"What does that mean?" Izaya asked.

"I mean, I'm bleeding. Bad. Give me ten bucks so I can go get some tampons."

"You should probably get some bleach."

"Your sheets are gray. Bleaching will destroy them. I already cleaned it out as best as I could."

"Do you know how to get blood out of sheets?"

"Bitch, I eat people. No shit, I know."

"Did you get it all out?"

"No. There was too much. I bled through your towel too."

"How are you alive if you bled that much?"

"Have you ever been with a woman?" Roppi glared at him then rolled his eyes. "Fucking worthless virgin."

"I'm not a virgi—"

"Here." Namie said.

The two ravens looked over at her. She was holding out a tampon and a pad to Roppi.

"You look like you've already bled through those pants." She stated.

Roppi looked down at himself. He couldn't see anything, nor could Izaya, but Roppi let out a sigh of defeat. He walked over and grabbed the items.

"Thanks."

The raven then turned and rushed to the downstairs bathroom. The door slammed behind him a little louder than Izaya thought necessary. The informant returned to his computer, typing away furiously.

Ten minutes later, Roppi didn't come out and Izaya's client knocked on the door.

"Namie-san."

Without saying a word, the secretary stood up and went to the door. In came a middle-aged woman wearing a bit too much make-up and a deep v-neck dress.

"Hello, Informant-san."

"Hello, Tokoro-san." Izaya smiled at her, standing by the couch. "Please, come sit."

The woman did as suggested and sat down on the leather couch.

This woman wanted nothing more than to know if her husband was cheating on her. If he was, and had proof, she could divorce him and get half of his fortune through the prenuptial agreement. Izaya had easily found proof—several cash withdrawals that went to hotels. They weren't love hotels, so they kept a paper trail—despite paying with cash—and video cameras in the hallway showed he was with another woman other than his wife. Younger, less make-up, potentially underage but there was no way to tell through a photo alone. This information would ruin his image as well as give his wife money to live off of without ever having to work again.

Izaya's meeting went uninterrupted and was over and done with within twenty minutes. Tokoro-san was very straightforward and had a to-the-point personality so Izaya had no time to banter. Of course, the raven didn't want to banter. It was 4:30p.m. and he still had to leave to meet his clients over in Ikebukuro. He had two more clients, one at 6, 7:30, and 8:30. And Izaya was already feeling drained. He didn't let it show but he felt it bad. His right eye was pulsing, and a small headache was forming at the back of his mind. He was thankful that she wanted to be in and out. He was also thankful that Roppi never exited the bathroom during their meeting.

Tokoro-san paid Izaya, took her folders, and left.

Roppi immediately opened the bathroom door. He was only in his underwear, his pants having disappeared.

"I feel like shit." Roppi groaned as he came out.

"Cramping?"

Roppi glared at him. "Give me some cash and keep an eye on the kids."

"No." Izaya said, standing up.

"What do you mean no?" Roppi's eyes widened with annoyance. "You want me to bleed all over your house?"

"I don't want you going out by yourself and I have to leave for Ikebukuro now, so I can't go with you. And even if we did leave together, I doubt you want Namie-san to look after your kids."

"I can't sit here in my own blood."

"Namie-san, how many hygiene products do you have?" Izaya turned to look at her.

Namie gazed up at him. She then pulled up her bag. She rummaged through and produced three tampons and three pads.

"That's all I have." She said.

"Are you on your period?" Izaya asked.

She glowered. "No."

"Alright, perfect." Izaya grabbed his coat off the rack. "Roppi, stay here. I'll be back by eight and I'll bring back your products."

"I could just get them myself—"

"Unless you want to dry Hibiya and Tsukishima then get them dressed and out the door within the next two minutes, then no. Just stay here. One product for each hour should be enough until I get back."

Roppi glowered.

"Do you have a preference of product?" Izaya was unabated by the hot stare.

Roppi continued to glower. He then groaned. "Equate and Kotex, if Japan has them."

"We do."

"Then Equate overnight, ultra-thin pads. They'll be orange. Make sure they're Equate. Kotex is in a black box, size regular. I think they're green. Or yellow."

"…Just out of curiosity, can I ask why the specifics?"

"Can't speak on behalf of other girls but for me, Equate is made of cotton. Some of the other brands are plastic-based and Equates the only one I know that isn't. You can probably take a guess that plastic mixed with blood rubbing against your cunt isn't healthy."

Roppi sat down on the floor, sitting with his legs criss-crossed while pushing his shirt down to hide his bloodstained underwear.

"I want them overnight," Roppi continued, "because they're the longest kind, so I can sit down or lie down and not worry about staining everything. And not all overnights are the same size, got a few fun stories about that one for another time. I want them ultra-thin cuz I can't sleep with the thick ones. It's like I'm sitting on something all night. I want Kotex cuz the little dispenser thingimabobs makes a click when you pull the back out far enough and if I don't have that, I waste three to four tampons trying to get the damn thing in. I need them regular size cuz anything bigger than that hurts to put it. Feels like I'm getting stabbed in my stomach."

"…Is it misogynistic of me to say I honestly didn't think choosing feminine hygiene products was that complex?"

"Not really." Roppi tilted his head as he looked at the ground. "Just shows you're a guy that's never been with a girl long enough to get that comfortable."

"You know, not many men are comfortable with period blood."

"Then they're fucking pussies."

"Explain that."

Roppi cocked a brow. "Don't you have to go?"

"I haven't been able to talk to you all day."

"And the first thing you want to do is be a dick, then tell me I'm under house arrest, and now you want some philosophical debate."

"Now don't turn this around, Roppi." Izaya glowered at him. "Thanks to your theatrics yesterday, I ended up cancelling all of my clients and putting them all on for today. I've been working since eight this morning and I won't be done till probably nine tonight. On top of all that, I have a headache. Excuse me if I'm a little annoyed because I'm tired."

Izaya walked over and knelt down in front of Roppi.

"As for the 'house arrest', you're overreacting. I _have_ to go. I have a client at six in Ikebukuro. Takes thirty minutes to get there and that's if I make the train in time, which I need to catch within," Izaya pulled out his phone. "the next 20 minutes. I can't stay to watch the kids and if you want to go out and get your own stuff then you'll be leaving the kids alone with Namie-san. Namie-san can't get them for you because I need her to organize files to send to me while I'm on the train. The closest store is about fifteen minutes away."

Izaya grabbed Roppi's hand.

"Lastly, as I said, I haven't seen you _all day_. I would like to talk with you, but someone decided to sleep all day."

"I forced out tw—"

"I know. I'm not blaming you. I'm just explaining my viewpoint."

Izaya leaned forward and kissed Roppi's cheek.

"I'll see you later." The informant said.

"…Text me, okay?" Roppi grumbled.

"Alright."

Izaya stood and went to the door.

* * *

Izaya sat down on the seat of the Yamanote line. He slouched down into the seat to relax and pulled out his phone to entertain himself.

 **[Hey, I made it on the train.]** Izaya sent the message to Roppi.

 ** _'It's so weird, checking in with someone.'_**

 ***PING***

 **[Good.]** Roppi replied. **[Do you still have a headache?]**

Izaya cocked a brow. **[A bit]**

 ***PING* [You got some water?]**

 **[No.]**

 ***PING* [you should get with headaches. Have any asprins?]**

 **[I'll get some when I get to Ikebukuro]**

 ***PING* [best not to go into a meeting with a headache]**

Izaya assumed Roppi sent that message before Izaya's had reached his phone so he allotted to ignoring it.

 ***PING*[Do they not serve water on the train?]**

 **[No. Why would they?]**

 ***PING* [Is it more lik a new York sabway or a memphis trian?]**

 **[What, the Yamanote Line?]**

 ***PING* [Yeah]**

 **[It's more like a subway]**

 ***PING* [oh well shit]**

Izaya chuckled. **_'Cute.'_**

Izaya texted. **[How are you feeling?]**

There was a brief pause. ***PING* [Still hurtin]**

 **[Is that because of the placenta's or are you having a period?]**

 ***PING* [Not sure, it feels lik norm period cramps. Now that the place tas are gone, I can have perioss. Count your blessings, since I had the placentas as the time I couldnnthave gotten pregnant]**

 ** _'…That's pretty lucky indeed.'_**

 ***PING* [Im fairly certain their period cramps]**

 **[Okay.]**

 ** _'He doesn't proofread before he texts. It's a bit annoying. Then again, this may be the first time he's ever used a phone, or keyboard of any time.'_**

 ***PING* [you wanna call that doctor drined of yours to chek me or something?]**

 **[I already did. Yesterday, while you were passed out, Shinra came to check on you. He allotted not to check your lower realm without your consent but he took some blood to make sure the placentas didn't cause some blood poisoning. He wants to give you a pap smear, urine test, and/or a vaginal swab to make sure those placenta's didn't cause any problems to your uterus.]**

It took Roppi a little longer to reply. ***PING* [Well thats alot of things he wants to do to my cunt]**

 **[He's just being cautious.]**

 ***PING*[I call it overzealous]**

Izaya chuckle. **[you don't have to if you don't want to but it would put my mind at ease if you let him do his tests.]**

 ***PING* [Just so you know, ive had a birth like this a few times in the past. Never had a near death from it thus far. Just a shittone of pain.]**

 **[all the same, I'd feel better]**

Roppi took longer to respond. ***PING* [illthink on it]**

Izaya let out a sigh. **[Okay]**

Izaya then sent a second message.

 **[Hey, changing the subject, there's something else we need to talk about. I planned to bring it up face-to-face but you were passed out and I didn't want to wake you so…]**

 ***PING* [What?]**

 **[If I happened to find one of your lost children, would you be willing to meet them within the next few days?]**

There was no response for a very long period of time. Izaya decided not to send a second message, less he look pushy. Izaya was patient and he had another 20 minutes before his stop. He could wait.

 ***PING* [Is this theoretical or a matter of time?]**

Izaya smiled. **[A matter of time.]**

 ***PING* [you found one already?! How the fuck did you manage that?!]**

 **[Well, I actually found three of them. But two of them I can't go and get right now. The one I'm talking about is very eager to meet his birth mom.]**

 ***PING* [HOW THE FUCK DID YOU FIND THREE?! And why are you JUST NOW deciding to bring this us? How long did you know?]**

 **[The one I've been talking about, I found him yesterday. He and his adoptive father gave me a lift home so I could get to you faster. Hibiya said he was their sibling.]**

Izaya sent a second message.

 **[which reminds me, is there some special way that you're able to recognize someone related to you?]**

There was a long pause.

 ***PING* [Yeah. We call it resonating. It's not unnatural for mermaids to be serpeateaed from family members for long periods of time. The ocean s very big and the currents can toss us pretty far from where we started. It's not unnatural for siblings or parents to go decades without seeing each other. Because of that, mermaids are biologically structured to 'resonate' with each other so we don't accidently inbreed. Our pheromones react to each other and cause physical response, like elevated heartbeat, crying, and trouble breathing. It hurts but feels good at the same time. You're happy but traumatized all in one swing. It ends up feeling very bittersweet. Hibiya and Tsukishima wouldn't have a very strong resonance because it was their first time meeting this sibling. The first time their pheromones would have collided. I can probably guess that neighter Hibiya, Tsuki or this child were in tears but they had a gut feeling telling them they knew each other or were close to each other.]**

 **[You'd be right]**

 ***PING* [thought so. Is this sibling who you're going to meet? And what about the other two you found?]**

 **[I can't get to the other two right now. I have to wait until the museum I donated to opens their exhibit next week. I am going to go meet this sibling. He was very upset he couldn't meet you yesterday so I was going to schedule an appointment for you guys to meet while I did business with his father.]**

Izaya sent another message.

 **[Now Roppi…]** Izaya sent it as he began to type up his next message.

 ***PING* [Yeah?]**

 **[understand that from what I could gather, Nanasaki dropped this child off at a catholic orphanage when he was infant. He was adopted by a loving husband and wife who can't have kids of their own. The wife is complete infertile. They love your child dearly, but this child knows he's adopted and wants to know where he came from, why he was abandoned. I gave him a sugarcoated version of what your relationship with Nanasaki was like and he is fully aware that you may reject him because of the nature of his birth. Despite all that, he still wants to meet you. From what I can understand, he has no intention of leaving his adoptive family but he wants nothing more than to meet you.]**

The response back took another long time. Izaya waited patiently, smirking slightly. He kind of wished he was able to see Roppi's face. He imagined Roppi was staring at his phone with confliction, his fingers hovering over the keyboard as he tried to decide what to say.

 ***PING* [how old is he?]**

 **[8]**

 ***PING* […I know which one he is. Does he have pink eyes and black hair?]**

 **[Yes, he does.]**

 ***PING* [okay]**

Izaya cocked a brow. **[Okay as in you'll meet with him or okay as in you understand?]**

 ***PING* [I understand. I….need to think on this a bit. I really want to see him but…..]**

 **[well, you kinda have till my eight o'clock.]**

 ***PING* [ I want to meet him, Izaya. I really do. Honestly I have no doubts about meetin him. Its the dad Im worried about. im going to have to tell this kid that hes a monster. And I cant skip over or just let him keep thinkin hes human else hell die I dont know if the kid will beleve me or if the dad will tell me to fuck off. But this is somethin he needs to know, its vital to his health and survival that he knows that hes a mermaid.]**

 ***PING*** Roppi sent a second message. **[Let them know that Im more than willin to meet this kid but make sure theyre fully aware of what theyre gettin into. I can give any form of proof that needed to make sure they know I'm not some traumatized bimbo whos claimin to be inhuman as a defense mechanism. But if theyre not willin to hear me out, thered be no point.]**

 **[I'll make sure that they're aware and if we can't come to an agreement, I'll find another way for you to meet this child.]**

Another pause took place. ***PING* [as long as hes happy and safe you dont need to find a loophole if we cant meet. At least inform them that the kid cant go into a large body of water until hes 13]**

Another message. ***PING* [Im not being selfsacrificig or anuthing like that. I just dont want to traumatize the kid if he cant understand what im tellin him.]**

 **[I don't think you'll traumatize him. He's a very smart kid for his age.]**

 ***PING* [not surprised. Mermaids are smarter than humans]**

Izaya glowered. **[you say that a lot but is that actually true?]**

 ***PING* [Yeah. We learn at an accelerated rate. Learning new languages can be done in a week at most. I learned Japanese within three days.]**

 **[Oh? You didn't learn Japanese from your mother naturally?]**

 ***PING* [I did learn from my mother but my father was Greek so we spoke Greek until we went back to the ocean when I was thirteen]**

 **[I thought you said your father was a western mermaid?]**

 ***PING* [He was. When we say eastern we mean Asian areas. We have Asian mermaids and white mermaids. White=western Asian=eastern. Then theres caribbian, arctic, and amazon]**

 **[sounds interesting. You should tell me more when I get back.]**

Izaya then sent a second message.

 **[Since your father was Greek, did you live in Greece?]**

 ***PING* [Yeah, I was a beached mermaid]**

 **[? Does that mean you were born on land like your kids were?]**

 ***PING* [Kinda but not really. The kids your ganna met is a beached mermaid but Hibiya and Tsuki aren't]**

Izaya was slightly confused by that statement. As far as Izaya knew, all three children had been born on land so why was Psyche different than Hibiya and Tsukishima.

 ** _'…Maybe he was born on land completely, with no water on the premises? What would happen if that's the case? If mermaid children can naturally sprout legs then does that mean that if they're born out of water, they're born human?'_**

Unfortunately, Izaya didn't have time to ask such a complex question as the train arrived at his stop.

 ** _'I'll ask him later.'_**

 **[I've got to go. Talk to you about this when I get home.]**

 **[Bokay. Don't forget my ladybit things.]**

 **[I won't]**

Izaya pocketed his phone and stood. The train came to a stop in which he headed out the open door.

* * *

"Thank you for your patronage!"

Izaya rolled his shoulders as he walked out of the store, carrying a plastic bag with a box and a plastic wrapped package.

 ** _'Finally, I can go home.'_**

Izaya paused to stretch out his back, feeling several pops go along his spine. His muscles were all tense with fatigue. His legs in particular hurt and were sore. He wanted to go home just so he could go straight to bed. His stomach was growling with hunger, but he was more than willing to ignore it to get some sleep. He currently didn't have the patience to make a meal, he didn't want to wait for a diner to make one, nor did he want to go to fast food and get something extremely greasy. He just wasn't in the mood to eat despite his stomach telling him otherwise. He really just…

"YOU!"

Wanted…

"BASTARD!"

To go home—

"FLEA!"

Izaya dropped out of peer instinct. It was a good thing he did as a fist came swinging where his head had once been. The raven kicked outwards to push off of the pair of powerful legs that belonged to that fist. He put his hand on the ground, swung his feet above his head in a flip, once then a second time and was now five feet away from his assailant. He turned to look at the person.

The blond bartender Izaya knew too well stood glaring down at him with enough hate to kill.

"Shizu-chan…"

 ** _'Why?_** Why **_did he have to find me today?'_**

"How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of Ikebukuro before you take the fucking hint?!" Shizuo yelled.

"Oh? Is that what you're angry about?" Izaya smirked from ear to ear, refusing to show how tired he truly was to his number one enemy. "I thought you'd be upset that I framed you so easily."

"I'm angry about that too!" Shizuo charged at Izaya.

The raven dodged to the side, his plastic bag swinging against his leg. Izaya hopped onto the guard rail and pulled out his knife. He didn't flick it open just yet, however.

"You really have a lot of balls to come back to this city after what you did!" Shizuo growled, glaring at the raven.

"It was just a bit of fun, Shizu-chan!" Izaya smiled. "You made it pretty easy, too! I mean, who would be stupid enough to believe a note on a door! You're so simple-minded, it was like leading a dog to a meat shop only to get butchered!"

"You're a worthless piece of shit!" Shizuo grabbed a street sign, crushing the base. "You fucking creep! How the hell can you sleep at night after using a little kid for a 'bit of fun'?!"

"Quite easily, honestly." Izaya smiled happily.

Shizuo's eyes went wide with absolute rage. With a call that displayed that rage, he pulled out the sign post. Izaya chuckled.

 ** _'Just why? Why today of all days did he have to find me? I feel like my legs are on fire.'_**

Izaya pushed off the guard rail and took off.

"DON'T YOU FUCKING RUN, YOU FUCKING FLEA!"

Shizuo threw the sign. Izaya looked over his shoulder. The raven dodged to the side, the plastic bag around his wrist swinging up. The sign hit the bag. Izaya's eyes widened as the plastic was ripped from his arm. The contents of said bag broke out of their containers and flew out in an array of neon colors, white, and orange all over the sidewalk.

Izaya paused to stare at the mess. Apparently, so did Shizuo as the blond was still standing where he had thrown the sign a few feet away. Shizuo's eyes were wide with shock. Izaya felt a crimson blush cross his cheeks from the exposure of such sensitive products—even if they weren't for him—and openly glared at the monster.

"Look what you did!" Izaya yelled. "Do you know how expensive feminine hygiene products are?! On top of littering, you just completely wasted some important items!"

Shizuo just stared for a moment longer then looked at Izaya with complete confusion. "Why do you have those?"

"That's none of your business!"

"…Are they for you?"

Izaya jolted, his eyes going wide with rage. "Your brain is the size of an amoeba! Of course they're not for me! They're for my lov—an acquaintance!"

Shizuo's eyes stretched wide. "You…have a girlfriend?"

"That's none of your business!" Izaya yelled, indignantly.

The raven heard the sound of a phone taking a picture. He glanced to the side to see a few people standing to the side—giving the two men a wide girth—with their phones out and pointed at them. Izaya's cheeks flushed red with new embarrassment.

"I'm going home!" Izaya yelled, pointing to the pads and tampons on the ground. "You made the mess, you clean it up!"

Izaya then turned and ran.

"Ah, hey! Wait, you bastard!"

Izaya ignored him and ran without restraint. A quick glance over his shoulder showed the blond wasn't chasing him. Izaya didn't know why he didn't but he was just a tad thankful. Although he refused to acknowledge he was thankful to the monster that was Shizuo. Instead, he told himself he was thankful to the simple-mindedness of the monster and pushed the thought from his brain completely.

* * *

Izaya let out a heavy sigh as he pushed through the door of his apartment. He was greeted with a tantalizing smell of cooked meat. Izaya cocked a brow as he flicked off his shoes in the genkan, a new plastic bag hanging off his wrist.

"Welcome back!" Roppi's voice called from the kitchen.

"Iza! Iza!"

Izaya walked into the living room. Hibiya and Tsukishima were sitting on the couch, the little black-haired toddler sitting on his knees to look over at Izaya. Those black locks were slightly damp so Izaya could safely assume they only recently left the tank. Namie was sitting at her desk, still organizing files. The two made brief eye contact before Izaya turned to the kitchen.

In the kitchen was Roppi, standing at the stove making something that was sizzling.

"Iza!" Hibiya yelled at the raven and put his hands out.

"Hello, Hibiya."

Izaya walked over and picked the brunette up. The towel that was around the toddler fell off to expose an orange fin. There was also a wet bandana wrapped around his neck.

"Hachi-kun said he wanted them to eat a real meal." Namie said. "The towels are damp."

"Understood."

Izaya picked up the towel. Namie wasn't lying. The towel was extremely damp, borderline soaked. Izaya wrapped the towel around the fin as he put the bag on the sofa. The wet fabric clung to his shirt and began to dampen his clothes.

"Tsukishima," Izaya said, "would you like to be picked up too?"

Tsuki, who had a towel and a bandanna around his neck and fin as well, looked up at the informant. He was playing a game on the smart phone Izaya had gotten Roppi yesterday. The blond shook his head and went back to his game. Izaya chuckled and shrugged before turning to the kitchen.

"Hey." Izaya said, standing behind Roppi.

"Hi." Roppi looked over his shoulder at him with a smile. "Don't bring Hibiya too close. I don't want him to get splattered with hot grease."

"Okay. What are you making?"

"Beef stroganoff. You're not allergic to mushrooms or onions or anything, are you?"

"No. I'm not allergic to anything. Are you?"

"Yup. It's a bit of a list."

"Oh?" Izaya leaned against the counter. "What's the list? I got your womanly products, by the way."

"Thanks." Roppi turned to look at him before looking back to the meat. "I'm allergic to chocolate, artificial strawberries, vanilla, caramel, peanut butter, peppermints, reptiles, and latex."

Izaya stared at him incredulously. "…How do you, a mermaid who proclaimed he doesn't go to doctors, know all that?"

"I never said I haven't gone to a doctor's. I just have no reason to go to a gyno. I found out I was allergic to the sweets when I was living with the woman I was caretaking. Miss Sharon was diabetic but she also had a sweet tooth. Every day or every other day we would go to the store and she would buy some cookies and fried chicken. I figured out I was allergic to most sweets because I would eat most of her treats, so she didn't eat an entire box of candies by herself and put herself in the hospital. I'm not severely allergic so I've never needed to use an epi-pen. My throat would just swell for a few hours."

"I see. Are you allergic to strawberries in general or just artificial?"

"I would cry if I was allergic to strawberries. I love strawberries. It's just artificial so most jams and ice creams and milkshakes I can't eat but if they make them with real strawberries, I'm good."

"So strawberry ice cream is out but strawberry swirl ice cream is okay."

"What's the difference?"

"Well, strawberry ice cream is made with artificial flavors. Strawberry swirl is vanilla ice cream with pureed strawberries in it."

"That sounds delicious. But I'm allergic to vanilla too."

"Oh, right. That must suck, being allergic to all sweets and having a sweet tooth."

Roppi shrugged. "I didn't know what I was missing out on until I started living with humans again. We didn't have chocolate back in ancient Greece."

Izaya chuckled. "Well, you won't have to worry about me eating treats in front of you. I don't like sweet things."

"You're definitely a sociopath. How could you hate sweets?!"

"They're overpowering."

"Lemme guess, you like tart shit like black coffee."

"Yup!"

Roppi scoffed. "I'll keep that in mind."

Izaya chuckled.

Roppi picked up the pan and lifted it off the stove top. "Move."

Izaya obeyed, stepping out of the way. Roppi went over to the sink and tilted the pan. Using the spatula to keep the meat from falling out, he dumped 90% of the grease down the drain. Once he was done, he went to the pot of pasta. He emptied the meat into the pot using the spatula, put both the pan and spatula down, turned off the stove top, and grabbed the huge metal spoon by the pot. He stirred the meat into the noodles, a wet noise of saucy pasta sounding.

Roppi then grabbed a deep bowl and scooped a hearty helping of beef stroganoff into it. He pulled out a fork from the drawer and put it in the bowl.

"Here." He held it out to Izaya.

Izaya cocked a brow. "Oh? Thank you."

The informant took the bowl. **_'This is weird.'_**

He turned and headed to the living room. He put the baby Hibiya on the couch and sat down on the adjacent sofa.

Roppi left the kitchen with another bowl. Izaya watched as he headed straight to Namie and put it on the table away from the papers.

"Here ya go." Roppi said.

"Thank you." Namie put the papers down on the opposite corner and grabbed the bowl.

 ** _'Isn't this a bit too familiar for us to be doing?'_** Izaya thought.

Roppi went back into the kitchen. He filled two small bowls before returning to the living room. He put the bowls on top of some place mats on Izaya's coffee table. Tsukishima put the phone down on the couch cushion then shimmied off the couch. He sat on what would be considered his knees before his dish. Hibiya followed by his younger brothers example and sat in front of the other bowl of food.

Roppi sat down on the couch in between his children and brought his wrist up to his mouth. Izaya heard the sound of something popping before he saw the flash of pointed teeth come over Roppi's human pearly-whites. The mermaid bit into his wrist. Blood flowed. Roppi put his arm over Tsukishima's bowl of food, the crimson liquid dripping down his pale flesh. A steady stream fell into Tsuki's beef stroganoff. Izaya was repulsed.

"What are you doing?" The informant asked.

"Weening them off of my blood." Roppi said.

Roppi pulled the dish towel, that had been sitting on his shoulder up till this point, down and put it on the wound to catch the blood. He then pressed it against his leg to keep himself from dripping everywhere. The adult mermaid took the small fork and began stirring Tsuki's food. The creamy mushroom sauce turned a tinge pink.

Roppi gave the fork to Tsuki. The blond smiled up at Roppi before stabbing some of the noodles and putting it in his mouth.

Izaya decided not to watch the child eat.

Roppi leaned over Hibiya's dish.

"I wan Iza's blood." Hibiya said.

"No." Roppi said, dripping blood onto Hibiya's dish.

"I wan Iza's blood!"

"No."

"I don wan daddy's blood!"

"Then I guess you're not eating, huh?"

"MMMNNNGH!" Hibiya pouted.

"Why not let him have some of mine?" Izaya asked.

"You have a death wish, don't you?" Roppi didn't look at Izaya as he said that.

Izaya cocked a brow. "Why do you say that?"

"He _imprinted_ on you. He doesn't know why he likes you. If you let him drink your blood, he may want more and that will most-likely lead to you dying a horrible, slow death with a baby eating you alive."

"…That's unappealing."

"Course it is. I'm telling you now, if I catch you trying to feed Hibiya your blood, I will beat the shit out of you, in public."

"I think that's a bit of an overreaction."

"It's really not. Do not. Do it."

Izaya just chuckled as he grabbed a fork full of beef and noodles and put some in his mouth.

Roppi stirred up Hibiya's food and handed the fork to Hibiya.

"No!" Hibiya turned his head away.

"If you throw any of your food, you're going to bed without dinner." Roppi said.

Hibiya glared up at Roppi. He pouted and turned his head away, crossing his arms and letting out a mighty "HMPH!"

Roppi just rolled his eyes and stood. He grabbed the plastic bag on the other side of Hibiya. He then stepped over Tsukishima and headed to the bathroom. The mermaid disappeared behind the door.

"Iza! Can I haf some of your blood?" Hibiya looked up at Izaya with the biggest puppy dog eyes the raven had ever seen.

Izaya smiled down at Hibiya. "Only if you eat what daddy made for you."

Hibiya's eyes went wide with happy realization. He quickly turned and pulled his bowl towards him. Izaya chuckled.

 ** _'This really does feel weird.'_**

Roppi returned. He glanced at Hibiya with a slight glare. He glanced over at Izaya and gave him a thumbs up before turning to the kitchen to dish himself some food. Roppi was back in a few seconds with a bowl. He swung his one leg over the back of the couch, then the other. He sat on the back of the sofa and slid himself down it so that he was in between his two children.

Complete silence filled the room, albeit the sounds of the two children eating noisily. The sight before Izaya began to make him extremely uncomfortable. Two children, a mother, and supposedly the father, sitting together, eating a meal.

Almost like they were a happy family…

Izaya swirled his food a bit. He had to distract himself from that uncomfortable thought. "You clean, you cook, and you ask me to buy you feminine products. You're turning out to be quite the housewife, Roppi-chan."

"Say that again and I'll put period blood in your coffee." Roppi said with a complete straight face before putting a mouthful of food in his mouth.

Izaya openly grimaced.

Roppi held back a laugh. Namie chuckled.

"That's one of the most revolting threats I've ever heard." Izaya groaned before he put his bowl on the table.

Roppi chuckled. "At least I didn't threaten to piss in your potatoes."

"How do those correlate?"

Roppi grinned from ear to ear. "Comes from relatively the same area. Had a friend who did that back in the day, thought it was relevant."

"To you?" Izaya stared at him with repulse and shock.

"No, to her brother. He betrothed her off to some prince fuck. She didn't like that as she was an adamant lesbian and had a pretty handmaiden she'd rather do. It was a betrothal based on principal from what I understood and this was back in ancient Mesopotamia. She really wasn't lady-like as far as personality goes but she had to wear a dress and curtsy and let her hair grow out and all that other shit girls had to do back in the day. That night they were having a potato diner and she couldn't tell her brother how pissed off she was cuz her opinion didn't matter. So, she went down the kitchen while the staff was busy doing something else and pissed in his potatoes. She doused it in black pepper and salt so that it masked the smell of urine. He finished half of his meal before he realized what was wrong with his food. And he couldn't ask who did it without revealing he ate most of it so he just stormed out without a word."

"Ancient Mesopotamia? Are you really that old?"

"No. Said lady was a vampire so she was around for a long time. Last I heard, she and the handmaiden were a pair and her brother has no complaints. I think they're in the America's right now."

"Did you meet them in the America's?"

"No. I met them in Greece. They came to ask for sanctuary from Zeus. Zeus refused them and they went to the Egyptian's instead. Zeus didn't like that, so he recanted his statement. Cira and Anara stayed with the Egyptian's, but the brothers went back to Zeus."

"…That…sounds like some kind of fictional story."

"I'm a fictional story." Roppi looked at him. "I already told you I swam with Poseidon. You think I was pulling that out my ass?"

"Not particularly." Izaya picked his bowl up and began to eat again.

Roppi glowered at him. "I get where you're coming from, Izaya. Plenty of humans, when they go through traumatic experiences where they're not treated as people but as animals, start to believe their something other than humans. They get stuck with these complexes, believing themselves to be monsters of some sort. But I would like to think that the teeth are proof enough that I'm not one of those kind of people, even if I can't display my fin right now."

I'm aware. Don't worry about it, Roppi. I don't think you have a complex. Although, I would like to hear more about these gods. For instance, why don't we see them anymore when they made so many appearances before?"

Roppi stared at him. "Well, that's cuz people don't believe in them anymore."

Izaya cocked a brow.

"Well…how do I explain this? Have you ever heard of a tulpa?"

"Isn't that a creature that came into existence on focus alone?"

"Exactly. It's just concentrated energy that eventually creates mass. Now, if just thought was enough to give something life, imagine what would happen if you actually saw them, heard their voices and touched them with your own hands. It's the same concept. Olympus and the Palace of Ra, Amater's place, the Aztec or Mayan's or whatever, and Asgard, they're all on their own plain of existence. They're in the spirit realm and when the gods wanted to visit, all they had to do was feed off of the prayers of the worshippers and hop on down. It's why we don't see them anymore because the gods have become obscure in the face of Christianity. You can still see them if you know how to spirit walk, but I heavy advise against that."

"And why do you say that?"

"Other than constantly questioning your sanity because you see shit in your head and you don't know if that's your imagination or something actually fucking with you? Once you become open to the spirit realm, anyone and anything can attack you. They can try to pull you out of the body to take it for their own or torture you through your mind with hallucination. And if you leave your body unattended, anything can hop in. Ranging from demons to vengeful spirits to even demon cats, you're open to all kinds of intrusions. And some things you're not able to pull out once they're in. All in all, it's dangerous and you as an existence may disappear."

"Can you spirit walk?"

"Nope and I'm not going to learn."

"Does that mean you don't talk to Poseidon anymore?"

"Yeah, haven't talked to him in a few hundred years by human standards."

"Is your concept of time distorted?"

"Of course. We're adults by our first year. In the ocean, time tends to go a lot faster. There's been plenty of time I've promised to meet someone on land in a few days and it turned out to be a few years."

"So by 'a few hundred years by human standards', what does that mean for you?"

Roppi shrugged. "Five years ago, give or take."

"Hm. How did you and the god of the sea meet?"

Roppi glanced at him. He then glanced to the side and favored putting food in his mouth rather than speaking.

"Is that a sensitive subject?" Izaya asked.

"A bit."

"Is he an ex?"

"Why does your mind immediately go to that?"

"Your pheromones are why."

Roppi grumbled then muttered out. "Touché…"

Izaya chuckled.

"But just so you know," Roppi continued, "Poseidon was more commonly known as the EarthShaker. God of the Sea was a subtitle in the face of his earthquakes."

"I see. Mm, by the way, what's Amater?"

"Oh, it's short for Amaterasu. The Shinto sun goddess."

"Oh? You met her?"

"Yeah, Poseidon invited me to a banquet on Earth once upon a dream. Zeus wanted to meet on Earth since he didn't trust Susanoo to do something if they went to their palace in the spirit realm."

"Zeus sounds a little paranoid."

"Oh, he is. Extremely fucking paranoid. All of his bad decisions derive from his paranoia. But anyway, Amater. Yeah, very beautiful. Don't piss her off. She can have a mean streak. And she has the Kusanagi blade so, really, don't fuck with her."

"The three Regalia of Japan are real?"

"Course they are. And Amater is the only one who can touch them. I heard from Poseidon that if anyone else tried to wield them, they'd either go complete batshit insane or they're spiritual existence would disintegrate. That level of raw power isn't something just anyone can handle. Mind you, if the spirit form is killed in the spirit realm, the body in the waking world will slip into a coma and die."

"What happens to the spirit form if it's killed?"

"They disappear. As if they never existed to begin with. It's not them who dies but their existence entirely."

Izaya chuckled. "Oh-ho? Interesting. Now, we've been talking about these gods, but, in the grand scheme of things, aren't they just glorified monsters?"

"…In a way, I guess. They were once man that ascended to god-like status, from what SeiSei told me."

"SeiSei?"

"Poseidon."

I see. Continue."

"Well, from what I was told, Zeus, Odin, Ra, Amater, and Chaak banned together in order to create ambrosia, which is the gateway to ascending to the stature of god. They're man-made gods. Not nearly as powerful as He who is He but much stronger and better than the average man and able to take their physical forms from the waking world to the spirit realm."

"He who is He—are you saying there is such a thing as God?"

Roppi shrugged. "I don't know. I believe in what I can see, and I've seen the gods with my own eyes. Sure as shit, I haven't seen any angels coming down and honestly, all the demons I've seen are things like demon cats and hellhounds. Those things are just concentration of human emotions. Demon cats show up in areas that have known great tragedy and hellhounds show up with concentrated hatred."

"What you're saying is that everything that would pertain to God is nothing more than a concentration of human emotions? Ergo, humans are the ones who created God and God does not exist."

Roppi shrugged again. "Your guess is as good as mine. Human's have a horrify ability to make things real that shouldn't exist. Their ability to create is both awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time. I wouldn't be surprised if Christianity is just some giant lie that was blow out of proportion and made into a wide-spread cult."

Izaya grinned from ear to ear. "That's very interesting. Then that dictates that there's no such thing as heaven, neh?"

"In the sense of, 'the land of milk and honey where the angels roam freely and the garden known as Eden resides'? Yeah, as far as I know that doesn't exist but there is an existence after death that's a close second. Your headless friend, Celty, is proof of that. She's one of Camazotz reapers, though I don't know why she's still on this plain if she's not reaping anyone."

Izaya put his food down on the table once again and leaned forward to give Roppi his undivided attention. "What's that supposed to mean? Who's Camazotz?"

Roppi looked at him with a wide smile. "You should eat, Izaya."

"But I'm enjoying the conversation."

"Yes, but your foods going to get cold if you don't eat. We can continue afterwards."

Izaya openly pouted. Roppi just chuckled and the informant heard another chuckle come from Namie's desk. The adult mermaid leaned back and continued to eat, leaving no room for Izaya to convince him to continue. With a huff, Izaya picked up his bowl and began to eat once again.

However, the scene of a happy family quickly came to the forefront of his mind. They ate in silence for only a minute.

"On a separate note, Psy-chan wants to meet you as soon as possible." Izaya said. "However, he has school. Next week, he has a three day weekend so I scheduled your meeting for Friday at 3pm."

"Psy-chan is the kid we were talking about before?" Roppi asked.

"Yes. His name's Psyche. Haruya Psyche. His father is Haruya Shiki, an executive of the Awakusu-Kai."

"Adoptive father, you mean."

"Well, yes. That much is obvious, from what we talked about."

"…Yeah. Guess it is."

Roppi continued to eat without a word.

"If you're not ready to meet him," Izaya said, "I can always raincheck."

"Whether I'm ready to meet him or not is irrelevant. He needs to know what he is before he makes it to a large body of water."

"Why's that?"

"Cuz of the way he was born."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Tell you after dinner. Just shut up and eat."

Izaya glowered at him. "Fine, fine."

The room was enraptured in silence once again. And, once again, Izaya was forced to acknowledge the strange scene before him. Izaya sitting down to a meal with the person he held affection towards and their two children. A happy family. That put Izaya on complete edge. He didn't want to acknowledge this scenario at all.

"I've got things I need to do." Izaya said before standing.

"Hm? More work? I thought you were done?" Roppi asked.

"Shiki-san wanted me to pull overtime."

Izaya strutted around the couch and went to his desk.

"That Shiki guy's gonna work you to death." Roppi said. "You should pace yourself a bit more."

"It's fine. This'll be the last thing of the night."

 ** _'Stop worrying about my health.'_**

"…Alright." Roppi said, "if you want seconds, let me know. I'll dish you up some more."

 ** _'Stop being considerate of me.'_**

"Thank you, Roppi-chan." Izaya smiled at him as he sat down in his rolling chair.

Izaya moved his mouse to jog his computer out of sleep mode. The tower whirled as it powered back on and his monitor lit up. He put his bowl of food on the desk and began to type away on his computer.

 ** _'This is much more comfortable.'_** Izaya thought, keeping his eyes trained on the screen. **_'I'm not ready to play family with Roppi. I doubt I'll ever be ready.'_**

Izaya glanced to the side, staring out the wall of windows.

 ** _'What am I getting myself into? Do I really want to have a companion? Ignoring the inhuman properties, this isn't what I originally wanted when I agreed to take him from Nanasaki. I'm being swept away at Roppi-chan's pace and that's beyond irritating.'_**

His eyes narrowed.

 ** _'Do I really want to date him or am I just following basic instinct due to the pheromones?'_**

Izaya let out a sigh.

 ** _'This is beyond infuriating.'_**

The informant then stretched his arms above his head before he began to clack away on his keyboard.

 ** _'But, I said I wouldn't run so I won't. I'll just have to figure this out as I go. Play by ear, so to speak. Once I get all his kids together, and the tank in the warehouse is done, I'm sure things will be far smoother for both me and him.'_**

He moved his mouse across the screen, put on a pair of headphones and grabbed his bowl of food.

 ** _'I just have to have patience, avoid these kind of situations, and keep my head out of my pants.'_**


	16. Chapter 16

Izaya glared with complete hatred at the display before him.

"Roppi-chan, would you please go put on some pants?!"

"Hm?" Roppi looked over his shoulder at Izaya. "Why? Did I bleed through?"

"No! That's not the issue!"

Roppi cocked a brow. "Then what's the issue? It's too hot to wear pants!"

"It is not too hot to wear pants!"

"For you! I'm overheating!"

"It's 72 degrees in here. You shouldn't be overheating."

Roppi turned around to face Izaya completely. He only wore a pair of pink panties and his red fur-trimmed coat—which was not zipped up so everything in the front was exposed to Izaya.

"Izaya, the body temperature down here," Roppi waved his hand in front of his crotch, "Is warmer than usual because of all the work my cunt's going through to bleed. Pants are too hot to put on and all I have are pants! Skinny jeans to boots! Get me a pair of shorts and we'll be good. Until then!"

Roppi sat on the arm of the couch and let himself fall backwards onto the cushions. The raven's petite, hairless legs were tempting Izaya more than they should.

"I'm only wearing panties until this passes." Roppi stated with no room to argue.

"Roppi, think of Namie-sa—"

"Don't get your panties in a twist. I'm almost done anyway. I've got like three more days on this shit and I can wear pants."

Izaya decided not to question how he knew that. Girls always seemed to know when they were nearing the end of their periods in some way or another.

The informant let out a heavy sigh. It had been five days since the beef stroganoff family dinner. Only two days to go before Roppi's scheduled meeting with Psyche. And it seems that Roppi was fully aware of Izaya's decision to practice celibacy as he had been testing the informant almost every day. If it wasn't him walking around in only underwear and his coat, it was him wearing completely nothing with only the string of his tampon showing he wouldn't bleed everywhere. He had claimed that the pads were going to leave a rash if he wore them too frequently and he didn't have any underwear to put on—as he had gone through all the pairs Izaya bought him within the first three days he got them. So, while he waited for them to go through the washing machine and dryer, he had been parading around with only his coat on. Luckily, that just so happened to be Namie's day off—but Izaya doubted that would make a difference as he seemed to have no qualms being completely naked around others.

With a groan of annoyance, Izaya decided he'd finally had enough. He stood from his desk—Namie casted him a quizzical look—and walked over to the couch.

"Hey," Izaya said, looking down at Roppi, "get dressed."

Roppi immediately flared with indignation. "I just told you—"

"We'll go out and get you some shorts so get dressed in what you have!"

Roppi's eyes widened. He sat up to look at Izaya properly. "You serious?"

"Why would I joke?" Izaya looked at him with complete annoyance.

"…Okay, what about the kids?"

Hibiya and Tsukishima looked up from their phone game. Both were holding Izaya and Roppi's phones and seemed to be playing a game with each other. They sat on their knees with a damp towel around their fins and a damp bandana around their necks to keep them hydrated.

"They don't really have clothes to go out in public." Roppi said.

"I'll see if Courier-san is available to babysit. If she is, we'll head out."

"To come here or go there?"

"Either or."

"Okay." Roppi looked down at the two. "You guys wanna see Celty?"

Tsukishima nodded vigorously.

"I wanna come with!" Hibiya yelled.

"You don't have clothes."

"But I wanna go!"

Roppi shimmied onto the floor so that he could be eye level with Hibiya.

"Hibiya, how about this. Stay with Celty for today and then we'll go out as a family and have some fun. We'll go wherever you want then."

"Can we do tat now?"

"No. You don't have clothes. You also have your fins out."

"I wan legs like you and Iza!"

"Well, I want you to age faster."

"I age jus fine with legs!"

"No, you don't. You'll be stuck like this for three years instead of two months."

Hibiya pouted. "I don care! I wan legs!"

"No."

"Mo—"

"Hibi-Nii," Tsukishima tugged on Hibiya's arm. "I-I'm sorry but I do-don wan to go. Can we st-stay here?"

Hibiya immediately looked guilty. "That's not fair!"

"Please?"

Hibiya pouted. "…Fine!"

Tsukishima smiled. "T-tank you."

Hibiya grumbled under his breath.

"Next time, Hibiya. Okay?" Roppi said before standing.

"Tell Silky to bring white guy!" Hibiya yelled.

Roppi cocked a brow. "Who's white guy?"

"Te guy wit te white coat."

"Oh!" Roppi looked at Izaya. "Can Celty bring Shinra?"

"I can always ask." The informant stated.

Roppi gave Izaya a thumbs up. He then walked around the couch and headed up the stairs. Once Roppi closed the bedroom door, Izaya turned to Namie.

"You can go home, Namie-san." He said.

"Is it alright to have the Black Rider here by herself with th—"

"Ssh!" Izaya held a playful smile as he put a finger over his lips. "The kids are very smart and Hibiya talks a lot."

Namie cocked a brow but nodded all the same.

"I'll give a call to Neikawa-chan."

"Neikawa? Are you sure?"

"Out of all of the Dragon Zombies, it'll be safest with her. Even if Yodojiri tries to steal it from her, he wouldn't get very far."

"Can the Saika blade control a dullahan?"

"Who knows. Although, I doubt she'd stab it."

"Stab what?" Hibiya asked.

Izaya smiled at the child. "It's nothing. Hibiya. We're talking about fatty tuna."

"Oh. Is it good?"

"It's extremely good. But since Celty doesn't have a head, she can't eat it. She's very sensitive about it."

"Oooohh!"

Izaya chuckled.

"You can let yourself out, Namie-san."

Izaya turned and headed upstairs to his bedroom.

* * *

"So, what's in the backpack?" Roppi asked, looking over his shoulder to stare at Izaya. "It's not really your style to take a bag out in public."

Izaya smiled. "I just need to drop something off for a friend."

"That's the biggest fucking lie you've ever told."

Izaya cocked a brow.

However, before the informant could respond Roppi continued talking. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But don't treat me like I'm stupid."

"There's no need to get defensive." Izaya sped up his pace so that he was by Roppi's side on the sidewalk. "I'm not hiding anything major."

"Obviously you are because you used the word friend."

Izaya's smile fell for a split second. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Sociopath's don't have friends. They have people they use."

"If that's so, then are you saying I'm just using you?"

Roppi didn't answer.

Izaya chuckled. "You know, Roppi-chan, you keep calling me a sociopath—which in no way or form is a compliment—then get hurt by your own words."

"I don't get—"

"You do. A lot. You're worried about our relationship to the point where you want to turn tails and run. You think yourself raw until you come to the most pessimistic conclusion."

"…I'm a pessimist by nature."

"I already figured as much."

Roppi snorted. He turned his head away but Izaya was able to see the scowl on his expression.

"Might I ask, why are you so adamant about calling me a sociopath?" Izaya inquired.

"Because you are. You show all the signs of a narcissistic sociopath."

"And yet you claim to love me."

"I never said I love you!" Roppi turned to glare at him, a blush marring his cheeks. "Don't jump the gun!"

Izaya only grinned. "What, Roppi-chan, are you attracted to sociopaths?"

"I wouldn't be with you if I wasn't."

"Now, what's more disturbing, Roppi-chan? The fact that I'm a sociopath or that you're attracted to my sociopathic tendencies?"

"Both, honestly. We've got quite the twisted love blossoming here." A small smile crossed Roppi's lips.

Izaya didn't reply. **_'Blossoming love, huh?'_**

"Twisted is one way to put it." Izaya said. "A monster and a human relationship is pretty grotesque."

"Grotesque is a harsh term. I'm fucking beautiful."

Izaya laughed. "At least we agree on that point."

"You better agree on that point. Fucking call me ugly and I'll leave your ass so fucking fast."

"Where would you go if you left?"

Roppi's smile vanished and he glared at Izaya openly. "Don't think I don't have options."

"And what options would that be?"

Roppi's eyes narrowed. He then snorted and walked a brisker pace away from Izaya.

"Are you sulking?" Izaya rushed to match his pace.

"You're being a cunt again."

"Am I? I was asking an honest question."

"No, you weren't. You're prying and questioning my abilities."

"Well, of course I'm questioning your abilities. I haven't seen your abilities in action."

Roppi glared at him. "This isn't ancient Greece. People aren't going to jump us on the road and try to mug us."

"So, your only abilities pertain to violence?"

"No…ugh!" Roppi tilted his head back with irritancy. "I fucking…I can do plenty of shit. If given the opportunity, I can prove myself to you, no problem!"

"Well, you can cook and clean. You'd be perfect as a nurse or caretaker, as you were once upon a time. So, I wouldn't question your skills in a restaurant or hotel. But I'm not sure you would last in my line of work."

"Says you. I fought in the Colosseum before."

"Colosseum? As in Rome?"

"Yup."

"Ancient Rome?"

"Yup."

"I thought prisoners were put in the Colosseum to fight until they die?"

"Yup. I was a gladiator."

"What's the story behind that?"

Roppi shrugged. "I pissed on a statue when I went to visit Rome. I got shit-faced drunk and was feeling a bit vindictive because the Romans took the Greek gods and renamed them. Needed to piss so I went behind a statue of Jupiter—aka Zeus—and took a whiz. Some guards caught me and I got tossed in the colosseum. Went up against some other gladiators, a lion, and an elephant. When I killed the elephant, I got voted up. I'm fairly certain they only let me go because they knew they couldn't hold me and I could very well kill most of the guards before getting shot down."

"Considering there were about 200 guards at a time, are you sure it's because you could kill them?"

"I'm telling you. Those bitches were scared. I made eye contact with Titus* and it looked like he was going to shit his pants."

"Or your pheromones kicked in and he was tempted to bed you, a man…? Were you a man at that time?"

"Yeah."

"How did you sprout legs in ancient Rome?"

"Salicylic acid is an off-shot of Acetylsalicylic acid. Or I should say that salicin is the core of acetyl acid. I convinced Anubi to get me some poplar tree bark—which is potent in salicin—and just ate that."

"Anubi? Is that a pet name for Anubis?"

"Yeah. I called him BiBi when we first me, he didn't like that. I tried calling him Anni, he didn't like that either. He didn't mind Anubi, though."

"So, you're friends with Poseidon and Anubis?"

"SeiSei introduced me. Anubis was staying with the Olympians for a while. He's a pretty cute kid."

"Kid?"

"I don't mean to call him kid. He just looks so young. Apparently, he took ambrosia when he was 17—the youngest Egyptian god as far as they told me. He's also the shortest as 6'1"."

Izaya took a moment to convert feet to centimeters. **_'185. He's as tall as Shizu-chan. And he's the shortest?'_**

"But he's been around way longer than I have." Roppi continued. "Like, by a good few centuries probably. The gods were long preestablished before I was born."

"Hm, interesting. Why was he with the Olympians?"

"…That's not my story to tell."

Izaya cocked a brow. **_'Oh?'_**

Roppi glanced at him. "Being a god doesn't mean everything's perfect for you."

"Can you get his permission?"

"I already have his permission. I have a journal buried somewhere in the Nile with his autobiography in it**. Waterproof treasure chest, bt-doub's, so it's still okay so long as someone didn't find it. It's written in ancient Greek so I doubt anyone can translate it."

"Ancient Greek can easily be translated."

Roppi's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"…Fok." Roppi said in a deep voice.

Izaya chuckled. "You can tell me, Roppi. I don't believe in a higher power so this just feels like a story to me."

"…How can you not believe when there's a dullahan in the city over?"

"Monsters and God are not equals."

"We're not talking about God. We're talking about the gods."

"The gods seem to be nothing more than glorified monsters, in my opinion. No different than the headless Valkyrie."

Roppi cocked a brow. "If you believe in Valkyries then don't you believe in Valhalla? Meaning, you believe in heaven?"

Izaya smiled. "I'm an adamant atheist. I don't know if there is a heaven or hell, or a God. So long as I exist now, in this world, I don't care if there's a hell or if there's only suffering there. But, if I had to choose, I'd rather go to heaven."

"God, you're so full of yourself." Roppi let out a heavy sigh. "I doubt your sins out way your saints considering half the shit you've done."

Izaya glared at him but his smile held. "And what do you know about what I've done?"

Roppi chuckled. "Nothing, of course."

Izaya didn't like that. He let out a dry chuckle. "Well, I don't disagree with you. That's why I have some insurance."

"Your 'insurance' isn't going to get you anywhere."

"That's what you think."

"It's what I know." Roppi glared at him. "Even if your leverage over Celty was worth anything, which it isn't, dullahans are just the carrying pigeons. They have nothing to do with your placement in the afterlife."

Izaya's eyes narrowed. **_'How did he know I have Celty's head? I made sure he wouldn't come across it. Is he just theorizing, placing some pieces of the puzzle together without having the full picture just yet? Seems extremely unlikely.'_**

"Why do you say I have leverage over Celty?" Izaya asked.

Roppi looked at him. "Again, you don't have to tell me anything. But don't treat me like I'm stupid."

"Explain yourself."

"You obviously don't want me to know."

"What I want you to know is irrelevant. If you already know then I'd rather know how much you know."

"Heh, how many times can you say 'know' in one sentence?"

"Roppi."

Roppi glanced at him. His eyes narrowed but Izaya saw a nervous tick of his lips. He turned away.

"I don't think I can explain in the open. Anyone could be listening."

Izaya's eyes narrowed.

"The Dollars are everywhere. Celty's part of the Dollars and considering the entourage of people that follow us," Roppi pointed behind himself with his thumb, "I think it's best not to say too much too loudly."

Izaya looked over his shoulder. Three people were blatantly pointing their phones at them. Their eyes widened and they tried to make it look like they were playing on their phones instead but it was a worthless effort.

Izaya's brow furrowed. **_'He knows about the Dollars and that Celty's a member? How and when did you find all this out?!'_**

Izaya let out a dry chuckle. "I really dislike you, Roppi-chan."

Roppi paused in his step. That made Izaya grin maliciously.

"I'm a very cautious person due to my profession. But because of you, I throw my surroundings to the wind in order to pay attention to you and only you."

"…Understood."

Roppi turned around.

"Where are you going?" Izaya turned with him.

"Back to the house."

"Why?" Izaya grabbed his wrist.

Roppi openly glared at him. "You just fucking said you dislike me! The point is to try and start a relationship. Can't start a fucking relationship if you openly hate me!"

"You're being pessimistic again."

"You're so fucking retarded sometimes, you know that? Despite being so fucking smart and socially superior, you're fucking imbecilic when it comes to any form of relationship."

Izaya's eyes narrowed. "Now that—"

"If you hate me, that's fine. But considering I'm free to go where I will, don't think I'm going to stay with someone who hates me. We already fucking had this conversation!"

"Would you calm down? You're making a scene."

"No, I'm not." Roppi tugged his wrist away. "I'm going back to the house. The kids and I will be out by the next hour."

"Would you stop?" Izaya grabbed Roppi's wrist again, giving a hard tug this time. "You're being dramatic. You know I didn't mean it like that. We already had this conversation, as you said. I hate how you make me! I don't hate you as a person!"

"Frankly, I don't see the fucking difference."

"There is a difference—"

"Would you faggots have this conversation elsewhere?"

Roppi and Izaya turned to stare at a man who was glaring at them with complete contempt.

Roppi's eyes narrowed with matching hatred as his lip pulled back in an animalist snarl. "Would the cunt who can't tell the difference between a man and a woman kindly fuck right the hell off? While you're at it, you can eat shit and die too."

The man stiffened with rage. "The hell's that? I can tell the difference betwe—"

"Obviously fucking not!" Roppi squared up to the interrupter. The man was a few inches shorter than Roppi. However, he didn't let that intimidate him—or at least tried not to. "If you want to be a fucking cunt, that's all well and good. But make sure that being a fucking cunt doesn't make you look like a fucking moron! While you're at, why don't you mind your own fucking business!"

"If you want privacy, you shouldn't be speaking about your relationship in public for all to see!"

"And if you want to call people faggots, you shouldn't be surprised if that person breaks your fucking nose! Actually, that's a good fucking idea!"

Roppi raised his fist.

"Wait, Roppi!" Izaya rushed forward, wrapping his arms around Roppi's arm. "That's going too far!"

"No, it's not!"

"Go ahead and hit me!" The man yelled. "I'll call the cop and sue you!"

"Fucking sue me! Won't change the humiliation you'll have to live with that a girl kicked your fucking ass!"

"You're not a girl!"

"The cunt between my legs says otherwise!"

"Roppi!" Izaya tugged the enraged mermaid back. Or at least tried to. The much stronger creature didn't budge to the informant. But the tug seemed to trigger Roppi to at least look down at him. "Let's just go. We have things we need to do."

"Kicking this cunt in the face can quickly become one of them."

"Now, now, there's no need to do that. Houshikagi-san here is nothing to worry about."

The man's eyes widened.

"You know him?" Roppi cocked a brow.

Izaya smirked. "This is the first time we've met but I know him quite well. He has a very adorable daughter that would have a bright future." Izaya then shrugged. "If only her boyfriend didn't turn her into a meth addict."

Izaya turned and smiled at the man. His face looked quite pale and he had begun perspiring noticeably.

"Please excuse my dear, here. I hope you have a good day, Houshikagi-san."

Izaya gave Roppi a tug.

"Come on, you."

Roppi followed without pause. The two made their way down the sidewalk—the entourage still following.

Once they were a decent distance away from the rude Houshikagi, Izaya turned to look up at Roppi.

"And that's how intelligence works better than violence." Izaya stated with confidence.

"Still should have broken his fucking nose."

"There's no need for that. He's realized his mistake."

"He called us faggots."

"It's just a word, Roppi-chan."

"Are you high? It's not just a word! It's a slur! You know where that word comes from, right?"

"Yes, I do. During the time of witch trials, men who were convicted of homosexuality were burnt with sticks that are known as faggots. Faggots are smaller than average sticks. They're basically twigs and brush, which burn slower."

"And knowing that, you have the audacity to say it's just a word?"

"Why are you taking so much offense? As you stated, you're a woman. Although I thought you identified as a man."

"I do identify as a man. But I'm offended cuz that fuck is a bigot! I know plenty of gay people and I love them all. For fuck sake, most of the gods have drabbled in homosexuality! Anubis hadn't even slept with a girl! The fact that that fuck has the fucking balls to use that word at all, fucking pisses right the fuck off!"

"Anubis never slept with a woman?"

"That's what you take away from what I said?" Roppi glowered at him.

"It's the only part of what you said that I don't understand."

"So, you understand why I'm pissed?"

"Yes, I do. By offending the gays, they essentially offend the gods, who you hold in high respect."

"Exactly."

"But back onto topic. Anubis never slept with a woman?"

"Yeah, no. He's only ever slept with men. Poor kid probably won't even know what to do if a woman came on to him. Actually, if I remember correctly, there was a girl who liked Anubis and he had no fucking clue. And I think Lilith tried hitting on him and it went straight over his head."

"…Lilith? As in the Jewish bibles' adaptation of Adams' first wife?"

"She's not an adaptation. She's very much real. And she's a scary bitch."

"…I would assume a demon is scary."

"She's not a demon. She's a vampire."

"Hah?"

"You know the story, right? That Adam's first wife was Lilith. Lilith refused to submit to Adam so Adam whined to God for a new one. He granted him as such, making Eve from Adam's ribs—which made her naturally more submissive to the demands of man. As such, that's why Eve was swayed by Lucifer to eat the apple. She was made to never say no and that fucked both her and Adam in the ass. An important detail the bible decided to ignore, because it would make it look like it was Adam's fault for wanting a subservient woman instead of it being Eve's fault for falling into temptation, when she was strictly designed to bow to men's whim—and for anyone that wants to say that Lucifer wasn't a man but a snake, it is absolutely, ludicrously absurd to try and say that as a snake, he suddenly lost his gender. But back onto Lilith, what actually happened to Lilith after that is different than the biblical adaptation but there are a lot of stories in the bible that differ from the truth.

"So," Roppi continued, "Lilith was pissed that Adam was such a cock and even more so that God took his side. So, she called out God's real name. If you recall, in Mesopotamia, they say that Muhammad Ali didn't die but disappeared in a ray of light. Same thing. Saying God's real name grants you to enter the gates of heaven, apparently. Which is what Lilith did. She decided that if she wasn't going to be happy with Adam, she'd go back home to her parent. Problem was, she refused to leave. She was meant to remain on Earth, as a creation of God, not to meander in the land of milk and honey. But she refused to leave, and from what I understand, she was being a thunder cunt while she was there.

"And so, she was punished." Roppi glanced at Izaya with a small smile. "Because of her impertinence and arrogance, she was tossed out of heaven. But that wasn't the end. As we know, God tends to have poetic justice for those that wrong him and his people, as far as the bible says. Lilith was cursed to forever crave the blood of the man that wronged her. The blood of him and all that would share his blood. Ergo, making Lilith the first vampire."

"I thought you didn't believe in God." ** _'I think he forgot about what started that whole rage fest.'_**

"I don't. I haven't even seen Lilith. But from what SeiSei told me, she's very much real. Whether or not that's the truth behind her origin is up for debate."

"Why's that?"

"Cuz she's a vampire. And in no story has it been stated that Lilith was a vampire. There are plenty of variations of Adam's first wife, but a vampire isn't one of them. Meaning her origin is probably a lie. Lilith probably isn't even her real name. Ten bucks says her name is actually Mina Harker. Or Ilona Szilagy."

"Really? Dracula's wife?"

"Yup. I know for a fact that Dracula wasn't the vampire. Vlad the Impaler killed all those men to feed his wife, who was a vampire. The origin of vampires starts with Vlad, so I doubt it started with Lilith. Fairly certain whoever this chick is, she's full of shit and just wanted to make herself more important than she was. But she's not Lilith because Lilith doesn't exist."

"Interesting theory." Izaya chuckled. "And this girl hit of Anubis?"

"Yup, apparently. It was Anubis's first banquet and there was a lot he had never seen before. He'd never left the desert before, so meeting Demeter and Poseidon was huge for him. He'd never seen the ocean before. He hadn't even seen green grass or ice. So SeiSei made a patch of the floor ice and Anubis had a blast! Lilith showed up and Anubis slide right into her. From what SeiSei could make, she took an interest in Anubi and started chatting him up. She called him cute and praised how important he was and was suggesting that she could come visit him in his realm for some quality time. Went right over Anubi's head as he says, 'I can't allow you to come to my realm. If you come, I'll have to weigh you and send you on your way.' So cute!"

"Can't he make an exception if he truly wanted a visitor?"

"Nope. From what Anubi told me, once you enter his realm, he _has_ to weigh you. Which is why your leverage over the 'Valkyrie' is pointless."

Izaya glanced at him. "Do you mind explaining that instead of being cryptic?"

Roppi glanced at him. "Maybe I wanna be a cryptic fuck? I'm still mad at you."

Izaya grinned at the mermaid, trying to hide his annoyance. "I told you, that's not what I meant and you know that."

"There doesn't feel like a difference. If you hate how I make you then eventually, you'll start resenting me, in which you'll start to hate me. So, there's really no difference."

Izaya wasn't sure how to answer.

His pause seemed to set Roppi off. The raven let out a heavy sigh and stepped to the side.

"Wait, Roppi." Izaya followed.

The two ducked into an alleyway.

"Roppi, wait a minute. Don't go back to the house. Talk to me." Izaya reached out and grabbed Roppi's arm.

The mermaid paused. He looked back at Izaya, shifting his bottom jaw side to side in obvious nervousness. He then let out a heavy sigh and leaned against the wall. He put his gaze to the ground. Izaya stood in front of him.

"How long do you want me to wait for you to figure out your feelings for me?" Roppi grumbled.

"That's not something one can figure out so quickly." Izaya said without missing a beat.

Roppi's eyes narrowed into a glare, looking up at Izaya. "Do I really seem like the type of person who would hold onto a thin string of hope?"

"I'm not trying to hold you by a thread, Roppi-san. This…liking someone is just new to me. I'm trying to figure this out. Aren't you being a bit demanding, expecting me to figure out these kind of emotions in a short amount of time?"

Roppi's annoyance only seemed to grow. "It's been a week, Izaya! By a week, you should be able to at least know if you like me or not! And what you said earlier is just your true emotions coming out and you haven't realized it yet! Because there is _no difference_ between hating someone and hating how someone makes you!"

"I disagree with you entirely. If I hated you, I wouldn't like having these conversations with you nor would I bother trying to explain myself. When I say that I hate the way you make me, I mean it as just that. I've…I'm always in control, Roppi, and I think you can figure that out—what with me being a _sociopath_ and all. So, the fact that you can make me out of control is annoying."

"If I am the cause, then there is! No! _Difference_! For instance, if you have anxiety attacks when someone touches your neck, and I grab your neck knowing that then it is entirely my fault! If I am _at_ fault then I _am_ the fault!"

"Well, in retrospect, it would be my fault for having the trauma to begin with."

Roppi's eyes flared with rage. "It is never the victims fault!"

"That's not what I meant. How should I explain this? If I had that kind of reaction to someone holding my neck, I would loath myself more than you. Because that is a fault in my character I would not want to have and I would want nothing more than to get pass it. And that is the same way I look at this situation. I hate how you make me because it makes me realize I have this kind of flaw when I thought I had complete control of myself. It's because of that, that I don't hate _you_. I hate what you show me. Like making Dorian Gray look at his own portrait. I liked how my portrait looked even after it became distorted. But after meeting you, my portrait is changing and I personally don't like the change. You may be at fault but my loathing is pointed at myself."

"You're so fucking difficult! Complicated! Layered! A fucking never-ending pit of vile emotions and cryptic philosophies!"

"I have to agree, but I happen to like that side of my personality."

Roppi was glaring complete death at him.

"What? I'm telling you, it's not your fault."

"That fucking annoys me."

"Why?"

"Cuz it sounds like I'm the only one who cares about this conversation! I'm the only one getting emotional about this because you don't give a shit!"

"Roppi, stop assuming you know how my mind works. You don't know me well enough to tell me that's how I feel."

"I've lived with you for a month—"

"And you still don't know that I don't show my emotions? That's my defining feature, don't you think?"

Roppi's eyes widened as his cheeks flushed. He then immediately glared at Izaya and let out a snort. "Fuck you!"

Izaya chuckled. He smiled at Roppi with a tilt of his head. "Hey."

Roppi turned his head away with a 'hmph!' "I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"Roppi~!"

Roppi closed his eyes with complete stubbornness.

"I'm going to kiss you."

Roppi went to turn towards Izaya but stopped himself.

Izaya continued to smile and leaned forward. He put his hands on either side of Roppi's head. The mermaid opened his eyes to the sound. He glanced at Izaya but kept his head turned, now tilting his head up a bit as his blush deepened. Izaya cocked his head with a smile.

"Mind turning this way?"

"No."

Izaya leaned closed to kiss Roppi's cheek. "I'll just have to kiss your ear, then."

Roppi jolted and faced the informant with wide eyes. "Don't do—hm!"

Izaya's lips cascaded over the mermaids.

Roppi breathed in deeply before he returned the gesture. The two held the passion for minutes before they finally separated.

Izaya smiled. "Let's continue on our journey, neh?"

"Fuck you." Roppi let out an animalistic snort and pushed past Izaya.

The mermaid then turned and headed down the alleyway, back to the entrance they came from.

"Ah, wait up!" Izaya rushed to be by Roppi's side. "There's no need to be embarrassed."

"I'm not embarrassed."

"Your cheeks are flushed."

"Fuck you."

They left the alley behind, stepping onto the sidewalk—where there were several people 'subtly' pointing their phones at them.

Izaya chuckled. **_'Let's put on a bit of a show.'_**

"If you really want that, Roppi-chan, we _could_ go to a hotel. There's a nice one over in Ikebukuro that I have the penthouse saved for my disposal."

Roppi stopped in his tracks, his eyes going wide as he looked up at Izaya with a beat red face.

Izaya's eyes widened.

"Motherfucker, I'll bite off your nose!"

Izaya had trouble holding back his laugh.

"Don't laugh at me!"

"What is with that response, Roppi-chan, hahaha! Considering how often you come on to me, I thought you'd agree on the spot!"

"Don't—I don't come on to you _that_ much!"

"I'd beg to differ, heehee!"

"Well, fuck you, sir! You're not allowed to come onto me! That's just not fair!"

"Not fair, you say?"

"Guys aren't allowed to come onto girls—that's just creepy. Girls can come onto guys cuz that's endearing!"

"PFFFFFFFTTTT, ahahahahahaha!" Izaya shook his head. "What's with that double standard!"

Roppi smiled, chuckling as well. "Double standards are fun, though."

"Heeheeheehee!" Izaya breathed out the last of his giggles.

"Orihara-san."

The two glanced over their shoulders.

Standing behind them was a girl with hair as long as her body, wearing a pink dress with black leggings underneath. She looked like a normal girl until one looked into her eyes, which were wide with a maniac pleasure that showed her mental state.

Izaya cleared his throat before turning around. "Ah, Neikawa-cha—"

Roppi tugged on Izaya's arm, pulling him back. The informants eyes widened for a moment as he turned to look at his partner. Roppi looked up at him with a stiff expression—almost as if he was trying his hardest not to show his fear. The mermaid shook his head and took a step back away from the girl, pulling Izaya with.

 ** _'Does he know Neikawa-chan is a Saika?'_**

"Is there something wrong, Orihara-san?" Neikawa tilted her head.

"It would seem so," Izaya looked at Roppi for a moment longer then turned to Neikawa with a smile. "but don't pay it any mind. You're here a bit early, Neikawa-chan."

"I was on my way to our meeting location and happened to notice your…paparazzi."

Izaya glanced behind the crazy girl with a smile, staring at all of the individuals that were still 'subtly' pointing their phones at him.

"Izaya," Roppi pulled the informant back. Izaya felt Roppi's lips against his ear. "You know this thing?"

Izaya chuckled then spoke in a low voice. "That's a bit rude. Neikawa is quite obviously a girl."

"Do you know what she is?"

"I do."

"And you're…she's the 'friend' you were talking about?"

"She is."

"Are you fucking retarded? Stealing a dullahan's head is one thing but making friends with a cursed object is fucking suicide!"

Izaya's eyes narrowed. **_'So, he does know.'_**

"Now, now, Roppi-chan, Neikawa-chan and I have an agreement. She works for me, I give her what she wants."

"You're an idiot!"

"Your friend doesn't seem to like me very much." Neikawa smiled.

Izaya let out a dry chuckle. "That would seem to be the case."

"Well," Neikawa held her hand out, "I'll just ta—"

Roppi pulled Izaya back, turning his body so he was standing more in front of the informant, as an inhuman hiss escaped his lips. His nose was crinkled in complete disgust. A popping came from his mouth as shark teeth came over his human set. Neikawa's smile fell as her expression was laced with confusion.

"You found yourself another monster, Orihara-san." Neikawa commented.

"I did, indeed. He's quite protective it would seem."

"Protective has nothing to do with it." Roppi growled, glaring at Neikawa with an animalistic snarl on his lips. "Letting a thing like you get close to him would be no different than letting a child hold a venomous snake."

"Now that's just rude, Roppi-chan." Izaya said. "I'm a grown man."

"Who doesn't seem to understand the size of danger he's surrounding himself with." Roppi turned his glare on him.

"I live with three cannibals. I think I understand the amount of danger."

"Don't call us cannibals. We're not the same species."

Izaya just chuckled as he shrugged off his backpack. He held the sack out to Neikawa. "Thank you, Neikawa-chan. Your payment is in the smallest pouch."

Neikawa smiled as she took it from the informant. "Alright. Good-bye, Orihara-san. Good luck with your monster."

Izaya chuckled as he waved. ** _'I might just need it.'_**

Once Neikawa was a safe distance away from them, Roppi let go of Izaya and gave him a harsh shove. "Are you fucking crazy?" The mermaid balked.

"What?"

"Don't 'what' me! That chick had a cursed object on her! Those are fucking dangerous, borderline demons, and you're _'friends'_ with her!"

"Calm down, Roppi-chan. She works for me."

"That's still fucking stupid! Cursed objects spread like a fucking cold from person to person!"

"How did you know that she has a cursed object?"

"She stinks of fileted flesh!"

"…How do you know what fileted flesh smells like?"

"Witch trials, you dumb fuck!"

"And that has to do wit—"

"Demon cats and hellhounds smell the same way! They're manifested vile emotions and cursed objects are no different!"

"Roppi-chan, pause." Izaya pulled on Roppi's wrist as he walked back towards the guardrail. He sat down on the metal, holding the mermaid's hands. "Just calm for a moment. You're being extreme."

"I'm not being extreme! You're being reckless!"

"I know what I'm doing, Roppi."

"I question whether you do."

"And I question your ability to live by yourself."

Roppi opened his mouth to argue but he faltered hard. Izaya smiled. "Let's come to an agreement, Roppi-chan. I'll have faith in your abilities if you have faith in mine. Less we be hypocrites."

"I know I'm a hypocrite."

"I figured as much. I think it'd be a little sad that you didn't know your personality after centuries of living."

Roppi openly pouted with annoyance. Izaya chuckled.

"Fine. Then I want to get some escrima sticks." Roppi said.

Izaya cocked a brow. **_'That was easier than usual.'_**

The informant decided not to question it as he stood. The two began walking again.

"I don't think you'll need something like that." Izaya stated.

Roppi jolted. He turned to stare at him with a wide-eyed glare. "But you just said—"

"I did say that but considering your strength, I think weapons would be overkill."

"My strength is overkill! I'd rather use a weapon because I'm less likely to kill someone with them! Especially escrima sticks!"

"Isn't that counter-productive?"

"I feel safer with them!"

"I don't think you'll need them. You won't be leaving the house without me and I'll be able to protect yo—"

"IZAYA!"

Roppi turned on the informant fast. Izaya's eyes widened as he was shoved against a telephone pole. The mermaid grabbed Izaya's thighs and lifted him up. The human couldn't stop the gasp that escaped his lips as he instinctively grabbed Roppi's shoulders due to his feet leaving the ground. He was pinned to the pole with his feet now dangling. Roppi then slammed his leg against the pole between Izaya's legs so the raven was sitting on that inhumanly strong knee.

"Stop treating me like a fucking dame!" Roppi growled, glaring at him with profound hatred. "I will happily be your woman, Izaya, but don't think for a god damn minute I'll be your damsel! I can take care of myself! Stop thinking that being drugged out of my mind means I have to be protected from now on! It was one shitty situation that you seem to be making my defining fucking feature and I'm going to start losing my shit here real quick."

"You seem to have already lost your shit." Izaya said with a confident smile as he put his hands up in surrender.

Roppi's lip pulled back in a snarl as an inhuman growl echoed in his throat.

"I concede, don't worry." Izaya shrugged. "You mind letting me down?"

The growl only deepened. He then snorted and pulled back without a care. Izaya dropped suddenly, but he put his feet down fast enough to catch himself. Roppi was already halfway down the street. Izaya sped into a brisk jog to catch up to the mermaid.

"So, if we're going to be getting escrima sticks," Izaya said, "there's a dojo over in Ikebukuro where we can get some. Do you want to get clothes here or over in Ikebu?"

Roppi didn't answer.

Izaya leaned forward to look Roppi in the eye. "Roppi-chan, don't be angry. I conceded."

"You're so fucking annoying sometimes, you know that."

"I'm not disinterested in the topic, Roppi."

"Bullshit."

"It's not bullshit."

"Then why the fuck do you just smile that condescending fucking smile and give up without a fucking fight?!"

"Because I know your hormones have altered my way of thinking. It's not within my character to want to protect someone, especially someone I could make an asset to me. Having you powerless is completely useless to me but I'm trying to do it anyway. You yelling at me makes me realize what I'm doing so I concede. Nothing more."

Roppi grumbled.

"Hey, hey, hey." Izaya gripped Roppi's hand. He wasn't rejected so he intertwined their fingers. "We can go back to the house if you want. Would you rather do that?"

Roppi's lips pulled back in yet another snarl. "No, I'm on the verge of overheating."

Izaya cocked a brow. "Does it hurt to talk with your shark fangs out?"

Roppi glanced at him. He then stared back to the sidewalk with a shrug. "Not really."

"They don't tear at your gums?"

"No. They don't overlap. If you notice, most sharks have perfect teeth. They only get skewed when they become old."

"Do you have shark teeth above your wisdom teeth?"

"No. That would tear the shit out of my cheeks."

"Interesting."

"Most creatures are made with perfect anatomy, Izaya. Only humans tend to develop natural deformities."

"Animals develop deformities."

"Those are called mutations, and those animals are picked off before their first year. Wisdom teeth are completely useless, in the grand scheme of things. Humans should have gotten them permanently removed from the bloodline generations ago. But you guys don't seem to like the function of Darwinism or evolution."

Izaya chuckled. "I agree with you there, but humans have the ability to make the world change to fit their needs instead of evolving to fit the world. That's why humans are so interesting."

"That's why humans are fucking parasites."

Izaya cocked a brow. "Well, anyway, do you want to get clothes in Ikebukuro?"

"Nice Segway." Roppi turned to stare at him. "You said Ikebukuro is a half-hour away?"

"Yeah."

"Is there a clothes shop you like here?"

"There is."

"Then let's stay here—wait, we'll have to carry everything after that, won't we?"

"They have backpacks and messenger bags we can get there, too."

"…Alright, fine then. Let's go to this clothes shop."

Izaya smiled. "Okay. It's this way."

* * *

 ***Titus was the Roman emperor from 79 to 81 AD and was the first Roman emperor to succeed the throne from his own biological father. His father, Vespasian,** **began construction of the colosseum in AD 72, and Titus completed it in AD 80.**

 ****If anyone is interested in reading Anubis's autobiography, we've been working on it for a while now. I had no intension of posting it but if there are a few who'd like to see this, I can start that up after I finish a few fics.**


	17. Chapter 17

"Thank you for your patronage!"

Izaya stepped out of the store, followed closely by the newly designed Hachimenroppi.

"Dude, you don't understand the value of a dollar, do you?" Roppi asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't fucking—you just spent ¥50,000 on a weeks' worth of clothes! Then what, another ¥7,500 to have it shipped to your house instead of getting a ¥2,500 bag to carry it like we agreed?"

"It's easier that way. And besides, you like what you got, don't you? Those rompers are very cute."

Roppi didn't answer as he glanced to the side. Izaya took his distraction to stare at Roppi's new outfit. He worse a light blue denim playsuit. It was a pair of shorts and a deep v-neck made into one article of clothing. A zipper went up half the length of the torso with a belt around the stomach for aesthetic purpose. The back was hidden by Roppi's black coat, but even cuter still, the shoulder's and back were completely exposed—only a denim collar was keeping the article from being a tube-top.

In addition to the jumper, Roppi had on a pair of black combat boots. On his legs were a pair of black-and-blue striped thigh highs, that were so long they encased his entire legs up to the hilt. Roppi had to fold them down so that they didn't rub against his inner thighs by his crotch—and subsequently get blood on them.

 ** _'Roppi has a feminine taste. But he does look good in that.'_** Izaya thought with a small smirk. **_'It's a good thing Roppi-chan isn't a woman. If he had to wear a bra, that jumper wouldn't fit his top half.'_**

It was not hard to notice that there was a significant tightness to the outfit. The zipper on Roppi's torso was constantly unzipping due to the strain. They could have gotten Roppi a big size, but if they had, it wouldn't have clung to Roppi's body and that gave Roppi rise to complain for some reason.

"Roppi-chan, so long as you like them, I'm fine with spending any amount of money." Izaya said. "I was honestly thinking of getting Hibiya and Tsukishima some clothes as well."

"No. I know I said to Hibiya that we can go out as a family once he gets clothes, but I don't want to."

"How mean? You lied to a child."

"That's what parenting about. You lie to them, so they don't get crushed. They'll eventually forget."

"Did you forget every promise your parents made to you?"

"…No, but mermaids are smarter than the average child."

"By that logic, won't Hibiya remember your promise?"

Roppi groaned.

"I don't mind getting them clothes."

"I don't want to get them clothes. I want them to age. Taking them out of the water is going to stunt their growth."

"Isn't that fine? There's nothing wrong with children remaining children a little longer."

"Yes, but I doubt you want to play the role of daddy for longer than you need to. If they grow up, then by the end of the year—fuck, actually, six months from now—we'll be out of your hair."

Izaya's eyes narrowed. "Did I ever say I wanted you out of my hair?"

"…Well, no, but you're not really the family-oriented type."

"So?"

"So, it's…" Roppi let the sentence drop as he let out a heavy sigh.

Roppi reached up to fold his hair behind ear. When he put his arm back down, his coat sagged off his shoulders to around his elbows. Izaya couldn't help but look at those beautiful, bare shoulders.

"Look, Izaya, there's a lot of problems with raising children." Roppi continued. "Especially mermaid children. I…worry for their safety."

"I wouldn't hurt them."

"For now." Roppi took a step back, making eye contact with the raven. "But you're just a human. You don't have ties to them like I do. Because we're bound by blood, their pheromones won't work on me. But you…"

Izaya didn't respond. That was a valid point. Hibiya and Tsukishima would eventually develop pheromones—if mermaids function like any other form of animal, it'll happen when they hit puberty—and Izaya was already succumbing to their mother's. With three mermaids emitting sex-inducing pheromones, Izaya might be in a bit of danger.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there." Izaya said. "For now, they're children and they should remain as such. Which means they need clothes."

"Again, I'd rather they grow up. The faster they grow, the faster we can find a place to stay."

"Roppi, I wasn't letting you stay with me because you're a mother down on your luck. I couldn't care less for such sentimentality. I wanted you to live me with because you would benefit from it the most."

"You and I both know that's bullshit. You fell to my pheromones."

"Yes, yes, but after that. After that, I could have kicked you out. I want you to stay."

"…I can't live off you forever. Sure as shit, I doubt I'll ever be able repay you for all the money you've spent on me."

Izaya chuckled with a nonchalant shrug. "Well, I could say you could pay me back with your body. But I'm not that type of man. Honestly, I don't care if you ever repay me."

"I care, though. I hate being in anyone's debt."

"It's not debt. It's a gift."

"A small fortune is not a gift."

"If I give you something with no expectation of being repaid then it's a gift."

Roppi glowered.

"Just accept it as it is, Roppi-chan. I've got no shortage of money so it's no skin off my nose."

Roppi let out a heavy sigh. "You just don't understand."

"Then explain it so I can understand."

"No." Roppi turned around and started walking.

"Eh? If you don't explain, then you're just going to let it fester until your pessimism takes over."

"Are we going to Ikebukuro or not?"

Izaya stared at him for a moment. "Do you want to drop the subject?"

"Yup."

Izaya chuckled. "Alright."

The informant then pulled out his phone.

"The next train doesn't leave for another twenty minutes. We should head over."

"Kay, lead the way."

* * *

"Well, Roppi-chan, are you done sulking?" Izaya asked, sitting down in front of the mermaid.

"I'm not sulking."

"Alright, then do you mind telling me how much you know about the head?"

Roppi glanced at him, standing in front of Izaya and holding onto the train handle above his head to keep balanced. "What's that matter now that you gave it to that thing?"

"Because I have plans for that head. And I don't want you to ruin them."

Roppi glared down at him. "I don't plan on ruining them. I have no allegiance to Celty."

"All the same, I would like to know."

Roppi grumbled before letting out a sigh. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, I guess for starters, how long have you known?"

"Probably for a month."

"A month…How did you find out?"

"I don't sleep very much. So, on nights I can't sleep, I'd go downstairs and read the books you have. You have no shortage of them, obviously. I came across it behind some of the books."

"…I wasn't aware you're an insomniac."

"I had no intention of telling you. You'll just tell me to take melatonin and that doesn't help me."

"Does melatonin have acetylsalicylic acid?"

Roppi shrugged. "I don't think so. I've never transformed to it. But then again, there are some drugs with acetylsalicylic acid that don't effect mermaids cuz they're not a strong enough dosage."

"Like what?"

"Ibuprofen. That doesn't work at all."

"Hm." Izaya crossed his legs. "Okay."

"Might I ask, what do you intend to do with the head?" Roppi looked at him near sheepishly. "I doubt it's for peaceful gain."

"Well…simply put, I want to open her eyes."

Roppi cocked a brow. "That's not possible without connecting her to the body."

"I'd beg to differ. Her eyes are open a slit now."

"…What the hell are you doing, starting a war?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, dullahan heads respond to areas of great violence. That's why they get mistaken for Valkyries because they would always appear on battlefields to ferry the dead to the other side. Theoretically, if a dullahan's head is separated from the body then the head wouldn't respond unless there was a war nearby. I'm fairly certain there hasn't been a World War II and there doesn't seem to be civil wars going on in Japan that I've seen on the news."

"Which means I myself would have had to start a war between petty gangs." Izaya grinned. "And those gangs would have to involve the dullahan body in some way else the head would get no stigma."

Roppi's eyes narrowed. "Is that what you're doing with this Dollars crew?"

"So, you know about the Dollars?"

"You gave me a phone that connects to the internet. Of course, I would know."

"Did you get an invite?"

"Nah, I just used yours. Your info was still on the old phone you gave me before I dropped it in the tank. Memorizing it was easy so I just put it in again."

Izaya didn't answer. **_'He's way smarter than I took him for.'_**

"I found out a lot of shit about the Dollars, the Blue Squares and the Yellow Scarves from some of your old chat logs. By the way, why the fuck is your name Kanra? Isn't that a girl's name?"

Izaya just shrugged, holding a nonchalant smile. "It's the internet. I can be who I want."

"That's creepy."

Izaya just chuckled. "You can be who you want, too."

"Not interested."

"Well, if you're going to be of use to me, you may want to get interested."

"…I guess that's valid."

Izaya chuckled.

"What else do you want to know?" Roppi asked.

"Does Hibiya know about the head?"

"Of course not. He talks too much on a good day. I can only imagine half the things he says to Celty and Shinra while we're away."

 ** _'At least he understands that much.'_**

"What's your plan here, Izaya?" Roppi asked. "Do you plan to use the dullahan head to secure a place in heaven?"

"Well, from what you said, that won't work."

"It won't. It's up to Anubis where you go."

"Hm. Well, if that's the case, wouldn't it actually be Osiris? Egyptian mythology said it was Osiris that put you where you belong. Anubis was just in charge of weighing your heart vs the feather."

"Yes, and if you recall, there is legit only _one_ story in Egyptian mythology that has Anubis in it."

"I always did find that strange. That Anubis is the most prominent Egyptian god, even more so than Horus, I would dare say, but he only makes a single cameo."

"Right? It wasn't even a fucking introduction to him but a legit cameo. They mentioned his name once. Once! It's fucking dumb!"

Izaya chuckled. "You're getting heated."

"Cuz it really annoys me how humans can't get anything right. They had one job. To capture the gods in all their glories and they couldn't even do that right. The only one they did relatively right was the Greeks, and even then, some of their stories are all scewy too."

"But those stories are the truth, aren't they?"

"No, they're really not. For instance, there's some gods that aren't even mentioned who exist. Like Anubis's older brother and Chaak's wife."

Izaya cocked a brow. "You have my attention."

"Chaak's wife makes sense since Chaak's a thunder cunt. You know who Chaak is, right?"

"I can't recall, no."

"He's the creator god of the Myan's and Aztec's. The Myan's have way more gods than exist. Like, there's four different gods of thunder, of the sky, and of the weather when there really isn't. There's one and his name is Chaak."

"Saying things like that would offend many people. You're basically saying someone's religion is wrong."

"Not my fault their ancestors didn't write it down properly. But I was there, living, breathing, sharing meals and talking shit with them. I know the truth and I can die happy knowing that."

Izaya didn't respond. Just smiled. **_'Interesting.'_**

"But no, so Chaak. He has a wife. Her name's Belki. She's actually very beautiful. She was known as the moonflower, because she has a garden of them. She was an amazing healer, owning a pool of crystalline water that comes from a rippling waterfall. She could have been the goddess of the moon, or the goddess of healing and medical care. Fuck, she could have even been a goddess of waterfalls if she wanted to be simplistic. But no, she wasn't allowed to take a title. She wasn't even allowed to exist. Legit, fucking Chaak told her, 'You're my wife and that's good enough'. Fucking dick cheese." Roppi chuckled. "Obviously, those two did not have a happy marriage. I heard that Belki and Camazotz had quite a few love affairs."

"You've mentioned that name before. Who's Camazotz?"

"Camazotz is the Myan goddess of Death. In Myan mythology, she was depicted as a bat monster that was constantly fighting with Chaak. It is true that she's a bat and her and Chaak are natural enemies. But she's not a monster. She's a goddess. She's the one in control of the reapers, so she's Celty's boss."

"…Hm. So, do all the death gods have their own roles to play?"

"Yup. It starts with Camazotz. She's the one who will guide you to and fro. Once upon a time, Hermes helped her out with that until they recruited the Valkyries. The reapers will give you an invitation from Hades then guide you to the doors of the underworld. From there, you'll enter Hades domain. You'll be ferried across the River Styx, where on the other side is an indescribably big pile of golden coins. Hades will welcome you to his realm. If he sees that you're tempted to take a coin, instead of a greeting he'll say, 'I wouldn't do that if I were you'. If you heed his warning, then you'll continue on your way through his realm without a problem. If you decide to ignore him and pick up even one coin, there is no saving your soul. Whatever life you had lived doesn't matter anymore. You could have been a priest who faithfully followed God and was a good man your entire life. The moment you take a coin, a coin that means nothing to you now that you're dead, your soul is damned for hell. It's a test of character. To see if your greed will outweigh your logic. Because again, you are dead. Nothing you do will change that. So, money has absolutely no value to you now. Greed has no value to you. Curiosity has no value to you. You just need to go on your way to the afterlife.

"After that," Roppi continued, "you'll make your way through Hades' domain. Obsidian and cool gray will eventually give away to dark browns as you entire the mouth of a cave system. All along the system, you'll hear voices calling to you, making jabs and snarks at you. Maybe even mentioning how delicious you look. If you're lucky, you'll see one of the owners of the voice. Although, I'm not sure that's actually a good thing. The owner is a girtablilu and they are the most hideous things you'll probably ever come across. They obviously have the bottom half of a scorpion, but the part that supposed to be human can barely be considered as such. A depraved corpse would be more correct. They look like nothing more than a skeleton with a thin layer of skin keeping it together. Their hair and skin are pale, so pale that they may as well be white. Their eyes are bloodshot, their lips are cracked with gnarly, jagged teeth. Not like shark teeth or anything, but more like they filed their teeth to make them points. Probably from chewing on rocks. You'll continue on your way through the tunnel. The girtabli's won't touch you, just talk of you.

"Once you reach the end of the tunnel, you'll come across a small area." Roppi shifted feet. "It is Anubis's throne room. He sits atop a throne of pure gold, lined with fine rubies and sapphires. On his right is his staff, which does not look like a candy cane. Anubis actually got his staff from Zeus, so it looks more Greek than Egyptian. It's almost as tall as him, made of solid gold with a sphere on the top. The sphere has the Eye of Ra on it—which is also called the Eye of Horus cuz, again, humans are dumb. Horus got the eye from his grandfather, not the other way around. There's a little peek at the top and on the sides are blades that look similar to bat wings. They're very sharp, don't touch them. Although, you shouldn't touch Anubis's staff anyway. On Anubis's left is his scales, which funnily enough, he can detach them from their stand and put them on the little peek on his staff. So instead of having to carry two things, he can just carry one. Smarts.

"Anyway," Roppi leaned forward, supporting most of his weight on the handle that he now held with both hands. "Anubis will introduce himself and he will then weigh you. He doesn't talk, doesn't ask you anything. Just stares from you to the scale then back to you. He'll then pick up a handful of stones and begin putting them in the scale. To you, they're just gray stones that look no different from each other. But to Anubis, they're black and white, one to indicate your heart—your sins—and the other to indicate the feather—your saints. Once you get done, he'll point you to another cave system, where he'll instruct you to either go left or right. If you try to stray from the path Anubis told you, the Girtablilu's will correct you.

"If your sins outweighed your saints," Roppi smiled, "then you'll be sent to Izanami, the Shinto goddess of death. In Shinto mythology, she's described as the Eve of Japan and Izanagi the Adam. Although the two are happily married with, I think, two kids, they have a more profound impact on Japan. Izanami is the goddess of death and Izanagi the god of life. Izanami has a profound love for all that comes to visit her. So much so, that she wants them to stay with her forever. However, her realm is barren of any form of life. I heard that residences of her realm can't even find each other. It's just never-ending darkness and loneliness where there's no escape, not even suicide cuz you're already dead. What's worse off, is that you're there by your own will. Izanami is so loving and good that when she asks you to stay with her forever, you'll say yes. And if you say yes, you just shut the door yourself. You have no one to blame but yourself.

"If your saints outweighed your sins, you'll be sent to Helen. In Hel—spelt with one 'L'" Roppi raised one finger in indication. "—you'll live a personal heaven. Your best memories, or if you lived a horrible life but were a good person, your favorite fantasy will be your life from now on. If you were abused as a child, maybe even killed by your abusive parent, then you'll live a life where you never knew pain and were deeply loved by your parents or by someone you want to accept love from. You basically live a paradise.

"But I'm not done yet." Roppi rolled back onto his heels, pointing the toes of his shoes upward as he again, required the handle above his head to support him. "There is one more road you can veer from Anubis's place. And that's purgatory. Those who are sent to purgatory were the individuals who lived an even life. They're sins didn't outweigh their saints and vice versa. Or they were too young to develop sins and saints. You know the concept of being baptized? That you're considered an innocent and protected under God until you're sixteenth year—or is it fourteenth? I can't recall—in which you'll be baptized again. That's basically it. Until you're old enough to make your own sins and saints and not carry the sins and saints of your parents—with the exception of the children who develop faster, so they do vile things at a young age like murder—you are basically home free. Anubis tends to cut it off at ten. If you're ten or younger and you're sent to Anubis, he'll place you in purgatory. The point of purgatory isn't a punishment. It's a waiting room. See, the world has so many miscarried babies because there aren't enough souls to fill the fetus's that are being produced. Those souls in purgatory are waiting for a compatible body to be developed in the world of the living so that they can be reincarnated.

"But again, they need to be compatible." Roppi shifted once again, standing flat-footed on one leg while the other he hooked around his knee. "If a soul goes into a body and it isn't compatible, the soul with begin to rot. I heard that that's how the River Styx was created. That Anubis, before he fully understood the fundamentals of the soul, would guide souls to a body that weren't compatible, and the soul would rot away until it became part of the River Styx. Although, I also heard that the River Styx was there before Hades even got there. Hades apparently theorized that the River Styx is indeed the remnants of lost souls, but it's more of the souls that have been here since the beginning of time. After all, Anubis wasn't born until, like, the time of Sodom and Gomorra. There apparently was a weigher before Anubis. He was Shinto and apparently very weird. But I was told that he snuck into Hades' room while the lord of the dead was sleeping and was just watching him while he slept. So, Hades killed him. So, there was a huge gap of time where no one was getting weighed and were just waiting around in the underworld. If you'll recall the story of Persephone's arrival in the underworld, Hades explained that the souls were waiting. For what, he didn't know, but they were waiting in the underworld for something.

"So, Hades theorized that the souls who've been there for so long just dissolved away, making up the River Styx." Roppi returned to his original position, standing before Izaya on two feet and leaning forward. "Anubis backs up this theory because he never weighed Adam or Eve. When Anubis got there, he had millennials years of people to weigh. He started with the ones who recently got there. His logic was that those who were waiting are used to waiting so they can wait just a tad longer. So, he took care of the new arrivals up to that day—new arrivals of the day after were put on the backburner until he was done—then began going backwards. He never weighed Adam or Eve, considering they should have been the last two he weighed. He never came across them. If it wasn't for people mentioning Adam and Eve, Anubis would have had no clue who they were.

"It is, of course," Roppi continued still, "possible that the weigher before Anubis weighed them and sent them on their way. But I honestly don't believe that. That Shinto apparently was useless at his job. He was constantly leaving his post just to meander around the underworld, from what Hades said. So, no, I don't think he weighed them and Anubis never came across them in the millions of people he weighed. And it wasn't a matter of overlooking them. Anubis stayed in the underworld for three months weighing people. He refused to leave until he was done! Anubis is an amazing man! Might I add, that on top of all weighing who knows how many millions people in just three fucking months, he also had to remain impartial, weighing them as they deserved not as he deemed fit. Which meant his father and Anubis' old master had to be weighed fairly. Frankly, I would have sent them to suffer but that's not how Anubis functions. He truly is a fucking amazing man."

"When you start talking about the god's, you sure go at it."

"My throat hurts a little."

Izaya held back a laugh. "Well, your story rose some more questions."

"Probably. How much longer till we get to Ikebukuro?"

Izaya checked his phone. "Ten minutes."

"Fuck. Did I really talk for twenty fucking minutes?"

"You did. But on a separate note, there are a few questions that I wanted to ask you in the past, but we got distracted."

"Shoot then."

"Alright, so first and foremost. I never asked while you were genderless. How did you urinate?"

"Um…through my urethra."

"But your genitals were gone."

"You _do_ know that a woman's urethra has nothing to do with her genitals, right?"

"Yes, I know that."

"So, by that logic, my urethra wouldn't disappear when my cunt disappears, right?"

"However, the urethra is underneath the clitoris. If your labia were to close then your urethra would be shut off, right?"

"…Okay, I get where you're coming from. But no, my urethra stays where it's supposed to while everything else disappears."

"Alright. Next question. We have seven minutes."

"Go for it."

"I would like to know of your philosophy about men's fear of period blood."

"Men have no god damn reason to fear period blood. They really fucking don't. Like, I can't even understand why it's a fear to begin with. I mean, men are supposed to not fear blood. That's the stereotype, the stigma that men are held up to that men don't falter in the face of blood. You see a woman cut her leg and they rush to help her but once they realize the blood is from her cunt, they get all squeamish. It's really makes no god damn sense."

"But period blood is different than normal blood."

"No, it's fucking not. It's blood. Blood is blood is blood. You don't sit there and say cat blood is different than fish blood. There's no such thing as a normal blood. And it's not like it's a spontaneous endeavor either. It's just the inner walls of the uterus peeling off. No different than if you peel off your cuticle and your finger starts to bleed."

"But it comes from your internal organs."

"So, when someone coughs up blood, men have a right to scream, 'ew, gross!' like a fucking child?"

Izaya was running out of devil's advocates.

"There is legit _no reason_ for men to fear period blood. If the only thing that justifies that fear is that it comes from a women's vagina, then by that notion, men shouldn't be turned on by vagina semen nor want to stick their dick in a vagina. Fuck, they shouldn't even love any baby that is born cuz those come from vagina's too! It's so annoying—and fucking dumb—that men will sit there and say vaginas are hot but only at certain times of the month."

"Well, not everyone is okay with having sex with period blood as the lubricant."

"I'm not saying they have to have sex with period blood! I fucking hate having sex on my period cuz it's a god damn mess! But that doesn't mean that men have to be fucking pussies about it!"

"You're getting heated again."

"Shocker."

Izaya chuckled.

 _"Arriving at Ikebukuro. Arriving at Ikebukuro."_

"That's us." Roppi stated.

"Indeed."

"Once we get outside the station, ask me the rest of your questions."

"Of course."

With that said, the two fell into a comfortable silence as the train came to a stop. Once stopped, Izaya led the way out of the train, up the stairs and out of the station. Roppi followed behind closely, even going as far as to grab Izaya's coat sleeve so as not to get separated. Izaya decided that was ineffective and instead grabbed Roppi's hand, intertwining their fingers. Izaya glanced around the crowd and noticed the prying eyes. Some knew who he was. Some knew who Roppi was, meaning they were Dollars members. And some just saw a man holding another man's hand, despite the other man wearing very feminine clothing. Izaya smiled at the notion that he would be recognized. His mind was already spinning with ideas.

 ** _'I wonder if any of my enemies will see us. Some who will think that Roppi-chan is my weakness, so they may want to hurt him to have leverage over me.'_**

That thought only made Izaya smile more.

 ** _'Roppi wanted to prove himself to me. If nothing else, dealing with some of my enemies will be a perfect field test.'_**

Izaya's eyes scanned the crowd.

 ** _'Come on, Yodojiri Jinnai. Send your worse.'_**

The two exited the station without incident. They weaved their way through the crowded square of the plaza until they were on a sidewalk, following a small crowd of individuals—and a few individuals following them with their phones out.

 ** _'I probably should have checked the Dollar's site while I was on the train. Roppi's more interesting though.'_**

Izaya's eyes narrowed.

 ** _'No, no. Human's should be more interesting than a monster.'_**

Izaya glanced over at Roppi, who was walking next to him.

 ** _'I really dislike how Roppi is changing me. I should be able to show him affection without neglecting my love for humans.'_**

"So, you're other questions?" Roppi asked.

 ** _'There's something wrong with this relationship. No matter how I look at it, I can't say that what we have is normal.'_**

"Ah, yes. You mentioned Anubis's older brother earlier." Izaya stated. "Isn't that supposed to be Horus?"

 ** _'Although, I don't want normalcy. So, this isn't so bad.'_**

"No. Horus and Anubis are not related at all. I can say with confidence that the two particularly loath each other. There are some versions of their mythology that says they're cousins, which makes sense, and I know others that say they're brother's, which makes no sense, but they're not related at all."

"Well, in one version it was stated at Nephthys, the wife of Set, hated Set so much that she slept with Osiris and bore Anubis."

"Yes, yes, I know. But that's bullshit. Nephthys and Set were happily married, despite what the myths say."

"Well, another version says that Nephthys and Set are Anubis's parents."

"That makes sense. But it's not the truth."

"How does that make sense?"

"Cuz Horus is the heir of Osiris."

"Yes, I know that."

"Did you know that Anubis is Set's heir?"

"…I did not."

"Yeah, here's the truth behind that. So, you know Isis, right?"

"You mean Isis (eye-sis)?"

"No, it's pronounced Isis (ee-sis). Anyway, you know who she is, right?"

"Yes, she's the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus."

"She was _supposed_ to be the wife of Osiris. That's what everyone was told. Osiris fell in love with Isis while she was still mortal. They were head over heels for each other and Osiris decided to give her ambrosia so that they could live in the Palace of Ra. Problem is, Ambrosia tends to alter one's mind. Depending on what you choose as your patronage, it can alter your personality to the enth degree. When Isis took ambrosia, she didn't want to love Osiris anymore but become her own goddess. She wanted to be known for her own abilities, not just as the wife of Osiris. So, she changed her name to Bast and became the goddess of cats. Later on down the line, her and Horus would start a love relationship and they're still together as far as I know. There was even talk about trying to have a baby last time I heard from them."

"Is it possible Isis played Osiris to get ambrosia?"

"Not possible. Ra wouldn't have agreed to it if she had any form of evil intent. No one on Egypt gets ambrosia unless Ra deems it so."

"Okay. So why was this relevant to Anubis's brother?"

"Oh, it's not. This has to do with Horus and Anubi being cousins. Continuing…"

"Go ahead."

"So, that's what happened there. So, since Isis rejected Osiris, he was left without a wife and without an heir. Set was married to Nephthys, but he was shooting blanks. He couldn't have children. Since that was the case, Ra decreed that neither of them would birth a child to the throne. Instead, they would choose an heir."

"Wait, I thought Osiris was the true heir?"

"He was. But him and Set actually had a very loving relationship. In the words of Set, 'there must always be a devil, else having a good god would be meaningless'. Set didn't mind playing the bad guy and it's not like any humans could witness what the gods did in the astral plain, so Ra just sent visions to his priests of the 'transgressions' that happened. To keep Osiris' dignity, he showed that Isis was still madly in love with him and bore him an heir, Horus. The 'villainy' of Set continued with Horus as the story you know. He was also kind enough to save Nephthys' dignity by saying that if Set was an evil man, she wouldn't love him—which is true. If Set had been as evil as the stories said, Nephthys would have never loved Set as much as she did. Even less so bore him a baby. But in truth, none of that actually happened. When Set 'died', he simply just stopped showing himself to mortals or he changed his appearance whenever he walked amongst mortals.

"So, backtracking a bit," Roppi continued, "Ra told the two brothers that the next heir to the throne would be chosen, not born to it. That way, the child wouldn't believe they deserve the throne, but that they earned the throne. Horus was an Egyptian prince. His father went mad in his old age and began doing despicable things in the name of the crown. Horus had to choose between the life of his father and the life of his subjects. He challenged his father to the throne. Horus knew he could win the fight without either of them getting hurt so his plan was just to usurp the throne and let his father retire in peace. Live out his madness without the strain of the crown where he couldn't hurt anyone else. Problem was, his father had no intention of giving up the throne. And the stress of getting beaten by his son, the thought of losing the crown, caused the old king to have a heart attack. He died in Horus' arms. Horus became pharaoh; he led his people for a peaceful and fair 12 years. He was a good pharaoh. He died when he was 26 from what I want to say was a defect of inbreeding—all Egyptians royalty were inbred, bt-doub's, in case you didn't know. When he died, Osiris chose Horus as his heir. Ra gave Horus ambrosia and he ascended.

"A few hundred years down the line, Anubis was given ambrosia and Set chose him as his heir." Roppi finished. "The relation between the two was placed, since they're the closest thing Osiris and Set would get to sons. So, in a sense, they were their sons. Because of that, the humans called them cousins."

"Why did Set chose Anubis?"

"…" Roppi glanced to the side, an expression of confliction lacing his face.

"Not your story to tell?"

"It's complicated. Or I should say, it's very…intimate information. Even if you don't believe, to expose such truths about the gods, especially precious Anubis. It just feels wrong."

"However, you have Anubis' permission so it's not wrong."

"Well, yes…but…I don't want anyone to think ill of Anubis. To everyone, Anubis is a fearful and powerful death god. I don't want to tarnish that by speaking the truth."

"So, he's not a fearful and powerful death god?"

Roppi didn't respond.

"Hm. Well, we can skip that question for now. Back onto Anubis' brother."

"…Right, so Anubis has an older brother named Bara. He was the Egyptian god of war."

"I thought Montu was the god of war? The falcon-headed god."

"He was a bull, but yes, Montu was a god of war too. Montu is the equivalent to Athena while Bara is the equivalent to Ares. That's one of the reasons Bara was forgotten. The Egyptians weren't really big on war so having two gods of war wasn't necessary. Also, Anubis and Bara had the same patron appearance. They were both jackals, just that Bara was like a gray color whereas Anubis was a dark brown. So, when people saw a jackal-headed god on the battlefield they assumed it was Anubis, coming to collect the dead. Bara's also where the stigma that Anubis is a furry, jackal headed guy comes from. Cuz when Bara fights, he liked to intimidate his foes, so he shapeshifted to make himself into a jackal, human cross thing."

"Oh, so Anubis isn't?"

"Nope, he's got a normal face and everything. His headdress has a jackal head on it but other than that, his head is pretty human. On a separate note that pertains to this, Bara was briefly mentioned once upon a time, but no one knew how to write his name because it was just unorthodox. If you notice, 'B' doesn't really show up in Egyptian translations often. It's mainly because 'B' didn't exist in hieroglyphics. The ancient Egyptians ended up calling him Upuatu—Upua—Upua…"

"Having troubles?"

"Shut up. U-pu-a-ut. Upuaut. Yeah, Upuaut. But if I recall correctly, they ended up recanting that and just decided that it was Anubis."

"Were the Egyptians forced to add 'b' to their language because of Anubis?"

"Probably. I wouldn't know though."

"Hm."

"Oh, Izaya, listen. I just want to put this on record in case of the very, very very very off chance you ever meet Anubis. Never mention Bara around him."

Izaya cocked a brow. "Why?"

"Well, you can mention Bara, but as far as Anubis knows, he has no relation to him."

"Why?"

"Ra…A lot of things happened between Anubis and Bara, so Ra ended up having to wipe Anubis' memories of him. He knows who Bara is, but as far as he knows, he was just another Egyptian god. Any interaction those two had, Ra took it all away from him."

Izaya stared at him. "Why would Ra do that?"

"It's…complicated."

"Another thing that's not your story to tell?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry."

"You keep being cryptic about this stuff, Roppi-chan. I don't care either or way what you tell me. This all just feels like a story you're trying to write."

Roppi narrowed his eyes. He then snorted and turned away. "Fucking non-believer…" He muttered.

Izaya just chuckled. In truth, Izaya had no reason _not_ to believe Roppi. If a mermaid and a headless woman could walk this very city without any qualms, then who was to say that man-made gods don't exist? In fact, Roppi may be his one-way ticket to becoming a god himself. After all, the notion of dying terrifies Izaya. If he had a choice, he would rather not fear death. If taking this ambrosia allowed him to live for eternity, watching over humans as much as he liked, he wouldn't mind trying to convince Roppi to get it for him. The issue was, who would Roppi get it from? Obviously not Ra, since he could sense 'evil intentions' and Izaya was in no way a good man. No, it would have to be someone else, someone who held no qualms giving him ambrosia despite his personality. From what Roppi has told him thus far, this Amaterasu seemed like a good bet. If she was willing to give ambrosia to a man who would sneak into Hades' bedroom and watch him sleep, her judgement obviously wasn't the best. In which case, Izaya could more than likely convince her of his status as a human and of his promising addition to the gods.

Of course, the only problem to this idea was Izaya losing everything that made him _him_. He could potentially lose every piece of his personality that he loved so dear. He could very well lose his love for humanity, in which case, it would be a very boring eternity. But was the risk worth never dying? Izaya wasn't sure. He would have to think on this more.

"I think I answered all your questions, right?" Roppi asked.

"No, I still have a few more."

"Oh my god." Roppi rolled his eyes. "I'm going to lose my voice if I talk so much."

"It's your fault for saying things without realizing it."

Roppi scoffed. "You know, this is supposed to be a date. Not a god lecture."

Izaya jolted, his eyes going wide. "We're not on a date. This is…this is an outing. An errand running trip. Not a date."

Roppi's eyes narrowed. "Oh, is that how it is?"

"Now don't get defensive. I don't mean it like that. I mean, dates are supposed to be going out to dinner and such. Not buying clothes and weapons."

"Dates are about spending time with each other and getting to know each other."

"Well, currently, I've gotten to know the gods more than I know you, so this still doesn't count as a date, even by your standards."

Roppi grumbled but couldn't rebuttal. The mermaid instead sighed and looked at where he was walking. "Are we there yet?"

Izaya looked around. "Pretty close. Just up this hill."

"I~!"

Roppi cocked a brow.

"Za~!"

Izaya just smiled but kept walking.

"Nii~!"

The sound of running feet against the pavement got closer until it was right on top of them. Roppi turned around just in time.

"Die!"

A girl with braids and glasses leaped off the pavement in a jumping kick that was aimed at Izaya's head. Roppi jolted out of the way out of reflex. Izaya still had a smile on his face as he tilted his head to the side and side stepped out of the way as the girl flew past.

"Hello, Mairu." Izaya said, walking past the girl who sat crouched on the ground. "I see your lessons have been going well. It saddens me that that's the first thing you say after missing your brother for so long."

"Shut up!" Mairu stood, a look of dejection on her face as she pointed at Izaya angrily. "You dodged again! You're not allowed to do that!"

"As I said before, I think I'm allowed to when someone is aiming to kick me in my spinal column."

"Wait, Izaya," Roppi stepped up to the raven. "When the fuck did you have a sister?!"

"I have two sisters, actually. A set of twins. They usually are very hard to separate. Neh, Mairu," Izaya looked over his shoulder at his sister. "Where's Kururi?"

"…Wait, Mairu and Kururi. And your name's Izaya."

"Yes?"

"Dude, your parents had to be fucking high when they named you lot*. Have epidurals really gotten that strong over the years? Fucking hell, I want some then."

"Oh, that's a valid point. Do epidurals work on you?"

"Wouldn't know. Never had one."

"Iza-nii, wait!" Mairu's pattering feet sounded as she rushed to catch. "You know, Eijirou-Sensei is still here. You'll get into another fight if you walk this way."

"Are you concerned for me, Mairu?"

"Not a chance!" She pulled down her lower eyelid and stuck her tongue out. "I'm just thinking that you might not want to lose your dignity in front of your new boyfriend!"

Roppi leaned forward. "I think the period blood between my legs dictates I'm a woman."

"There you go again." Izaya chuckled. "I don't mind if you want to identify however you like, Roppi-chan. But would you mind choosing male or female? You're going to start confusing me."

"I'm male _and_ female. There's no helping that, dipshit." Roppi glared up at the raven. "I would assume you'd rather I consider myself a girl in public. Less you get called a faggot."

Izaya cocked a brow. "Oh? So, you're allowed to say faggot but no one else is?"

"I am a faggot. I can use it to describe myself all I want. Some bigot cunt isn't. Just like black guys can call each other nigger but a white guy can't."

Izaya just chuckled. "Your logic is very hypocritical."

"I already told you I'm a hypocrite. Deal with it."

Izaya chuckled as he shook his head.

"Iza-nii! Were you listening?" Mairu yelled.

"Yes, yes. I was. Your concern is very touching. However, the dojo is where we're heading."

"Eh? Why?"

"Roppi-chan needs to prove himself." Izaya pointed at Roppi with his thumb.

"Eh~~~." Mairu leaned forward. "Neh, Roppi-san. I saw your video and I've got to tell you, you're making a big mistake falling in love with this guy."

"I'm not in love with him. I just like him. Love can come later if we make it that far." Roppi stated that without looking at Mairu with a blank expression.

"Eh, if you're not in it for the love then you should get out before it's too late. Iza-Nii is a dirty scumbag and he'll use you like one. He's got nothing good to offer."

"I don't know. The sex was pretty good. We can start with that at least."

"Roppi!" Izaya couldn't stop himself from yelling as his cheeks burned. "Don't say that!"

"What? It was." Roppi looked up at him with a smirk. "Not many guys I've fucked over the years were able to last long enough for me to cum, considering how tight I am and all."

"Hachimenroppi!" Izaya's whole face burned.

Roppi laughed heartily. Mairu cocked a brow as she stared at Izaya.

"I've never seen you make that face before, Iza-nii. Maybe Roppi-san can make a decent man out of you yet."

"Heh, wouldn't dream of it." Roppi said. "I'd probably dump him if he became too boring."

"I question your tastes." Izaya grumbled.

"You really shouldn't. Cuz you're my taste. Unless you want me to gtfo out of your life."

"Now, now. Don't jump the gun again."

"I'm not jumping anything." Roppi turned his head away and muttered. "Except for maybe a building."

"Hm? What was that?"

"Nothing."

Izaya scrutinized him. He then glanced past him as the stone wall that had been on their left gave away to expose a dojo. The dojo they were looking for.

"Ah, here it is." Izaya said. "Time to test your skills, Roppi-chan."

Izaya patted Roppi on the shoulder before stepping up to the sidewalk.

Mairu and Roppi followed behind him.

"Neh," Mairu said, "With all seriousness, you should take those kids of yours and run as far away from Iza-nii as you can. He's really not a good fit for someone like you."

"And how do you know me?"

"Oh, I don't know you very well. I just watched your video and I've got to say, it'd be such a waste to have someone as head-strong and confident as you underneath Iza-nii's boot."

"Your concern in touching. But I'm under no one's boot." Roppi looked down at the girl. "And if Izaya even tries to put me there, he'll learn firsthand why he shouldn't fuck with a monster."

"Iza-nii messes with all kinds of people who could easily kill him just for the fun of it. I don't think he's scared of you."

"I don't need him scared of me. I just need him to register me as, at least, an equal. Actually…equal would be too much to ask, considering it's him. Nah, probably…if he'd just consider me as something more than a monster, and as something more than an onahole, I think I'd be content. He doesn't have to love me back, so long as he can at least be honest to himself about us. The last thing I want is for him to reject me all because he can't understand he has feelings for me."

"Iza-nii doesn't have feelings for anyone but himself."

"That's not what I've seen."

Mairu stared up at him. "I feel sorry for you."

"I don't need your pity. But you can believe what you want. And I'm a big boy who can take care of himself. If there's nothing to be salvaged, then I can just get out. Pretty simple."

"Iza-nii isn't that simple. I don't think he'd let you leave just because you want to leave."

"If he didn't want me then why would he stop me from leaving?"

"…Honestly, I don't know. Iza-nii's never done something like this before. What you and him have is really weird."

Roppi chuckled. "As he put it, a human and a monster dating is pretty weird."

"Huh, oh, by the way!" Mairu grabbed Roppi's arm. "Are you really a mermaid?"

Roppi stared at her for a moment. Then he smiled. "You want proof?"

Mairu nodded.

Roppi chuckled and leaned forward. He smiled, bearing his teeth to her. A pop resounded and his set of shark fangs came down from his gums to cascade over his human teeth.

"Waah!" Mairu stared at him with an expression of awe.

Roppi chuckled. "It's nice to see that you and Izaya have similar interests."

"Can I take a picture? I want to put this on the dollar site!"

Roppi shrugged. "Fuck it. Sure."

"Great!"

Mairu pulled out her phone. Roppi took a step back and put a finger in his mouth, stretching out his cheek so more of his pearly whites were exposed, along with some of the slits on his gums. Mairu raised her phone and took several pictures. Once she was done, Roppi pulled his finger out and wiped the saliva off on his coat.

"If you two are done…" Izaya called, standing in front of the door.

"Coming, coming!" Roppi rushed over.

Mairu watched the mermaid go. "I wonder if Roppi-san is as screwed up at Iza-nii. That would explain why he likes him. Although, there might be something there. I've never seen Iza-nii take such an interest in anyone like this before."

Mairu smiled.

"You two can burn in hell together then, if that'll make you happy."


	18. Chapter 18

"Take off your shoes, Roppi-chan." Izaya said, stepping out of the genkan in his socks.

"What is it with Japanese and taking off your shoes?" Roppi kneeled down to do as he was told.

"It's healthy. Less dirt you trudge into the house."

"If you vacuum regularly then it doesn't matter."

"Yes, but not everyone has all the time in the world like you do."

"The fuck you mean I have all the time in the world? I've been doing half of your job."

"No, you haven't."

"Feels like it."

"Half of my job would be far more than organizing some files and helping Namie-san out."

"Hmph!" Roppi finished untying his boots and kicked them off unceremoniously.

"You're setting a bad example for the kids."

"Bite me."

"Are you in a bad mood again?"

"Nope, just annoyed."

Roppi walked past Izaya into the dojo.

 ** _'Does he hate being wrong that much?'_**

Izaya followed after him.

 ** _'Probably.'_**

"Hello, welcome to our dojo!" A man with brown hair and facial hair called, his muscles rippling. "Who are you—"

His words fell away when he saw Izaya.

Roppi didn't seem to notice. "I'm Hachimenroppi. I'm with him." He pointed a thumb at Izaya.

"You…bastard!"

Roppi cocked a brow. The muscle man wasn't looking at Roppi at all. Instead, his eyes were glued to Izaya with a profound hatred.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming into my dojo!"

" _You're_ dojo? Last I checked, Mikage-chan was the head of the dojo, wasn't she?"

"Take my sister's name out of your filthy name!"

The man rushed forward, a fist out and poised to swing.

Izaya ducked down under the man's arm and rushed into the depths of the dojo. He headed for the training area, where there was plenty of room to maneuver and fight.

The man followed right behind him, still going for an attack.

"I'm assuming that's Eijirou-sensei." Roppi said to Mairu, who was standing next to Roppi as the two walked in after the fighting (?) men.

"Yup. He doesn't like Iza-nii."

"Is there a reason for that?"

"Well, from what I could make of it, it sounds like Iza-nii and Mikage-sensei dated back in high school or something. They at least slept together. But Eijirou-sensei said Iza-nii raped her."

Roppi's eyes narrowed. "Mm-hm…"

"Now, now, Roppi-chan," Izaya called, expertly dodging every kick and punch the man threw. "I already told you before that rape is of no interest to me. It's a very barbaric act and I would like to think I'm above such cruelties."

"Ha~!" Roppi tilted his head to the side as a soft laugh escaped his lips. Mairu rushed over to a girl with giant knockers. "Nah, you're not the type to rape someone with your own dick. I know that much. But you're probably the type to hire others to do the act for you. Or you just don't give a fuck to stop the act from happening."

"That stings, Roppi-san. And here I thought you loved me."

"I already told you that love is jumping the gun." Roppi glared at Izaya. "I love your personality and your dick. That's about as far as it goes right now, Iza-chan."

"Well, Roppi-chan, I don't think I need to spell out why we came here, right?"

Roppi let out a sigh. "Right."

The mermaid shrugged off his coat and dropped it on the floor. He rolled his shoulders.

Then at a speed that did not match a man of his stature, Roppi pushed off the ground and was standing in between Eijirou and Izaya. Eijirou was in the middle of a swing and Roppi's sudden appearance caught him by surprise as well as made him falter. He wanted to punch Izaya, not this…woman?

Roppi grabbed the wrist with his right hand and raised it up. At the same time, he ducked low and rammed Eijirou in the ribs with his shoulder hard. The wind was knocked from Eijirou's lungs. Roppi released him and the martial artist hopped back, holding his ribs.

Roppi stared at the man with an expression of complete boredom.

"Neh, I'm in a really, _really_ sour mood right now." Roppi said. "You mind just calling it good with this attack-Izaya-bullshit?"

"Why are you in a sour mood when you just jabbed me in the ribs? I should be the one in a sour mood!"

"Cuz Izaya annoyed the fuck out of me."

"Roppi-chan, I'm hurt." Izaya said. "Is it possible you don't believe I'm innocent?"

"I couldn't give two fucks about where you put your dick." Roppi glared over his shoulder at him. "Not like you and I are _dating_ anyway. So, it's perfectly fucking okay for you to bring a love interest to your ex's establishment, huh?"

Izaya's eyes widened. "Oh…"

"Pah! That didn't cross your mind at all, did it, you fucking dipshit stevie wonder?"

Izaya didn't respond.

"God, you're such a fucking idiot sometimes." Roppi growled.

"Iza-nii, that's so bad." Mairu said, grabbing onto Izaya sleeve as she stood next to him. "I thought you had more common sense than that."

"Now, listen here, miss!" Eijirou yelled. "I don't know what Izaya told you, but that bastard is no good for anyone! He'll use you! No, even worse, he'll ruin your life like he ruined my sister's!"

A woman in shorts and a sports bra stepped out of a room to the side, obviously coming to see what the commotion was about.

"I couldn't care less about your sister's ruined pussy." Roppi grumbled. "Ain't my fucking problem what Izaya did in his teen years. So long as he wasn't a child molester, I couldn't care less who he fucked and who says it was rape. I'm just trying to earn a bit of freedom."

Roppi growled as his lip pulled back in an inhuman snarl.

"And honestly, I couldn't give a shit right now. I have no motivation to prove myself anymore. So, I'm giving you this one chance to fucking back off Izaya's dick before I snap your god damn neck."

 ** _'Jealous Roppi is very unattractive. Very scary.'_** Izaya decided this would not be a repeated offense.

"How the hell can you defend a bastard like him?" Eijirou yelled.

"How the hell can you claim consensual sex is rape? What, is it just easier to believe that your pure and innocent sister could never spread her legs for anyone, let alone a scumbag like Izaya? So instead of seeing the truth, you fabricated a story that would fit your ideas? Basically, you're a disillusioned fuck with a sister complex."

Roppi scoffed in disgust.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Roppi grinned as he got into a defensive stance.

"THIS!" Eijirou yelled. "This is just further proof that Izaya is the bastard I claim he is! If he was any form of a man he wouldn't ask a woman to fight his battles!"

"Do I look like I have tits, you fuck?!"

"If you're a man then why are you dressed like that?!"

"I can dress however the fuck I want, you fuck!"

"Stop calling me a fuck!"

"Then stop acting like one, you chauvinist, sexist fuck!"

"Chauvin—You're disillusioned! Izaya's got you wrapped around his finger like he had my sister! He'll ruin your life! He doesn't care for you, he's just going to use you like he used Mikage!"

A foot slammed into the back of Eijirou's head. The beefy man's eyes widened before he fell to his knees, holding his cranium. Roppi cocked a brow.

"Again, you're saying unnecessary things!" The woman yelled. "It was bad enough when you yelled things like that on a public street, but to say things like that to a stranger? You have no shame!"

"Ow…" Eijirou rubbed his head. "What the hell, again with the kick to the head? You're going to give me brain damage, sis!"

"Maybe if I did, you'd stop doing such stupid things!"

"Hah! Now she's someone I can respect." Roppi said.

"Shut up, you!" Eijirou yelled.

"Hello, Mikage-chan!" Izaya smiled up at her from his seat on the side of the training arena. "Sorry to drop in unannounced! Roppi-chan here wants to prove himself and I couldn't think of a better dojo!"

"…I heard." Mikage looked at Izaya. "You shouldn't have come here, though."

"I'm sorry~!" Izaya's smile showed he was not sorry.

Mikage glared at him. Then cast her gaze to the side. Roppi's eyes narrowed as he stared at her, an inhuman growl rising in his throat.

"Don't do that, Roppi-chan." Izaya said as he stood.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"There's no need to be jealous." Izaya stepped up to the mermaid.

"I'm not jealous. Just fucking annoyed." Roppi turned his head to glare elsewhere.

"We'll properly talk about that later." The informant leaned forward, curving around Roppi to gain his attention. "If you don't want to prove yourself that's fine. But I'm not going to let you go out by yourself until I know you can defend yourself. If you're okay with that then we can go home."

Roppi glared at him. Then he let out a heavy sigh. "Hey, come here."

"Hm?"

"I need to tell you a secret."

Izaya stood up straight and leaned forward, curious of what the mermaid had to say. Roppi leaned in close, his lips nearly touching Izaya's ears.

Roppi let out a loud, inhuman screech. Right into Izaya's ear. The informant called out in pain as his whole body jolted. He immediately fell to his knees, holding his ear with both hands. He couldn't hear anything, just a loud, profound ringing. Roppi stared down at him with a cold glare before turning and walking away.

Izaya blinked over wide eyes. He pushed a finger into his ear and shook the orifice to try and get it to register again.

"That was cruel, Roppi-chan." Izaya said, glaring up at his inhuman companion.

"You deserved it." Roppi said as he stood in front of the rack of training sticks. He grabbed two that were no longer than his arms. "But if it's any consolation, I feel better."

"It's really not. Don't expose yourself like that."

"And why shouldn't I? Everyone on the Dollars site already knows I'm not human."

"Not everyone in this room is a member of the Dollars, Roppi."

Roppi looked over his shoulder at him. Then shrugged. "Don't tell me what to do, then."

Izaya glared at him for a moment. His hearing was returning. He stood and shook his head to try and help his recovery along.

Roppi returned to Izaya's side, a training stick in each hand.

"So," Roppi grumbled, "Am I going to have to kick the shit out of you to prove my point?"

"Honestly," Izaya shrugged nonchalantly. "I was hoping Eijirou-san would have thrown a punch instead of talking to you."

"Like I would hit a woman, you creep!" Eijirou yelled.

Roppi growled, his lip pulling back into a snarl.

"Roppi-chan," Izaya started, "I would like to say that you are allowed to wear whatever you like. However, when you wear girl's clothes, and with your hair being so long, it's to be expected you'll be mistaken as a girl."

"Well, no shit, sherlock. That was the point of wearing these clothes."

Izaya cocked a brow.

"You want to get called a faggot again?"

Understanding crossed Izaya's face before he chuckled. "Really? That's why you bought woman's clothes? So, we could blend in? You don't need to take to heart what a random individual says in passing, Roppi-chan."

"You have an image to uphold, don't you? In your line of work, it'd be ill-advised to expose your open-mindedness to genders."

"…Let's discuss this later, neh?"

Roppi glared at him then scoffed. "Whatever."

Izaya leaned forward, his voice dropping to below a whisper. "Thank you…"

Roppi's eyes widened. He jolted back, a violent blush cascading his face. "I'll fucking tear your throat out, you little shit!"

Izaya's eyes widened. Then he struggled to hold back his laughter. He turned away and put a hand over his mouth as he couldn't keep it in anymore.

"No need to be bashful, Roppi-chan!"

"Shut up! Back off me before I cave your brain in!"

"Hahaha, right, right!"

Izaya stepped back, laughing softly as he stepped off the training mats.

"Well, Roppi-chan, you don't necessarily need to fight anyone since Eijirou refused to play along." Izaya smiled at him. "Just show me you at least know how to use those things."

"I know how to use them." Roppi glared at Izaya. "I'm advanced in escrima sticks, swords, and daggers. Axes and shields, I'm proficient with. Don't bother asking me to use lances and spears."

Izaya cocked a brow. "I wouldn't think it's that hard to be proficient with shields."

"It is when you're on a battlefield and everyone has a shield."

"Wait, are you talking about using a shield as a weapon?"

"Have you ever been bashed in the face with a shield?"

"No."

"It fucking hurts. And it can easily kill a man, especially if it has ornaments on it."

"Ornaments?" Mairu inquired.

"Spikes, honey. I'm talking about spikes."

Roppi brought the escrima sticks up.

"Wait a minute!" Eijirou yelled. "There's no way you're allowed to train in this dojo! Not while I'm here!"

"Just let them." Mikage said. "It's easier than trying to argue with Izaya."

"No, I'm putting my foot down, Mikage! This bastard is not allowed to be here!"

The two glared at each other. Mikage then turned around and gestured for her brother to follow. "Talk away from the students."

Eijirou glowered but didn't argue. Instead, the two went into the room Mikage had originally come from. The door closed behind them.

"Okay." Roppi breathed out.

He began twirling the training sticks at his sides once then twice. His movements became faster as he started getting used to the weapons. He then began twirling them in front of him, making well-timed 'X's with them without hitting each other. No different than a majorette, Roppi began twirling the training sticks above his head. He threw one up, the stick twirling in the air, while Roppi spun the other one in front of him. The stick came down, in which the mermaid caught it.

 ** _'He is quite good with them.'_** Izaya acknowledged.

Roppi swung them back and forth in front of himself. His arms criss-crossed around his torso as the sticks swung with vigor and momentum. Roppi uncrossed his arms, the training sticks still spinning.

The end of the stick in his right hand swung up and slammed into Roppi's forehead, making a resounding thunk. Roppi's eyes stretched wide before he dropped the sticks out of reflex and dropped to his knees, holding his head.

Izaya's mouth exploded with laughter he couldn't contain. Violent laughs tore through Izaya's being as he turned his back on Roppi.

"Don't laugh at me, you bastard!" Roppi yelled.

The raven couldn't do as he was told as the comedy of the situation held Izaya's whole being. His sides start to hurt, his stomach started to hurt. He had to take a knee as the laughter had no intention to stop anytime soon. The sound that had reverberated from Roppi's skull destroyed Izaya's composure in an instant. He laughed and laughed and laughed. Laughed until he started coughing. Laughed until he began to cry. Laughed until he couldn't physically support himself and had to lie on his side.

Only when breathing became a slight struggle did he finally calm down. One hand wrapped around his stomach, one reached up to rub the tears from his eyes, Izaya got the last of his giggles out of his system.

"Ah, the noise it made, hahaha…It sounded like your skull is hollow. It echoed, hahaha, it friggen echoed!"

"Fuck you!" Roppi's growl was laced with a small hint of laughter.

"Ah, I haven't laughed like that in years. Hoh!" Izaya rolled over on his back. "There is definitely a chance now, Roppi-chan, hahaha. Definitely a chance I could fall in love with you, heeheehee!"

Roppi didn't respond. He was staring at Izaya wide-eyed with a blush growing on his cheeks.

Izaya didn't see that expression at all. By the time he sat up, Roppi had already composed himself so Izaya was none the wiser. But Mairu and Kururi had seen it. And the two were giving each other quizzical looks.

"Fucking stupid." Roppi grumbled.

"You're the one who hit yourself in the head."

"No one asked you!"

Izaya giggled. "Ah, my sides hurt."

"Hmph!" Roppi turned his head away. "I'm out of practice. Don't take that fuck up as a display of my skills."

"You were doing pretty well until that point."

"Neh, Iza-nii," Mairu pulled on Izaya's sleeve. "Shouldn't you have Roppi spar with someone to really show her skills?"

"Him…" Kururi mumbled.

"Of course, that would be the best," Izaya said. "However, considering his strength, Eijirou is the only one I'm comfortable with him fighting. Anyone else he would hurt."

"It's called a spar." Roppi glowered at him. "It's not a mock-death battle or a death match."

"Might I ask the difference?"

Roppi glowered at him. "Mock-death is fighting without restraint. You just hold back on dealing killing blows, but breakings arms, dislocating limbs, and slice and dicing is all fair."

"That sounds horrible."

"Not really." Roppi shrugged. "That's how they trained in Sparta."

"Oh?" Izaya leaned forward. "I thought you were born off the coast of Troy?"

"And? You know, there's this funny concept called traveling."

"Well historians said that Sparta was isolated from the rest of Greece."

"Then historians are wrong. Sparta was impenetrable to the rest of Greece. No one could invade Sparta without getting the shit kicked out of them. Trade caravans and merchants were allowed."

"Oh, tell me more."

Roppi's eyes narrowed in obvious annoyance. Izaya tilted his head with an innocent smile upon his lips.

"What?" Izaya asked.

"Spar with me."

"Hah?"

"Spar with me and I'll tell you."

"Does it matter if I win or lose?"

"You're not gonna win but no, it doesn't matter."

"I'm not a fan of getting throttled, Roppi-chan."

"Who says I'm gonna throttle you? I wanna spar, not beat the shit out of you."

"…Well, truth be told, I'm not much of a hand-to-hand combat fighter."

"Figured as much."

Izaya cocked a brow. "Why do you say that?"

"The first day we met, when I bit through your hand. Your logic was to run rather than fight. I figured you were more of a parry-thrust kind of guy."

"How perceptive. Well, you'd be right."

"I should teach you how to wield a sword. You'd be pretty good in a war."

"I have no intention to partake in a war that I can't win."

"That's not a war then. That's a slaughter. The point of a war is two opposing forces spilling blood over something—usually something stupid but important at the time. If you start a war knowing you'll win, then that's just a massacre. Needless slaughter that was made justifiable with the title of war."

"You sound like quite the veteran."

"I am a veteran."

"Which war, then? The World Wars? The battle of Troy? Alexander the Great? The Revolutionary War of America?"

"There were a few." Roppi brought his arms up to rest his hands on the back of his hand. "If we're talking about wars, the Trojan War was my first. That was…quite an experience. Ended up pregnant with Achilles's bastard. Thetis was oh-so kind enough to take the thing off my hands. I wasn't there for the sacking of Troy. Probably would have died if I was. Or worse. Next war after that was when…wait, that wouldn't be considered a war, would it?"

Roppi closed his eyes and leaned forward in thought.

"No, it was a war. The Alexandrine War. I was on the side of Ptolemy XIII under Ra's request. Ra believe Cleopatra was going to destroy the rule of Egypt. She already bore Caesar's son, who was next in line for the throne. So, having a Roman on the throne to Egypt, Ra _did not_ like that. We lost, obviously. What's worse is my son got killed during one of the skirmish's. A stunning example of Patroclus, Shizuma thought he was ready for war when he wasn't. Losing Shizuma hurt so I said screw humanity for a while. After that were a few decisive battles, but they weren't really wars. You could say I partook in the Holy War, I guess. The Teutonic Knights were being a pain, so I helped out against them here and there. After that, I said screw humanity again, went and did my own thing in the ocean for a while. Came back for Joan of Arc in the Hundred Years' War. Was there at her burning, that was horrifying.

"After that," Roppi glared at Izaya, "War started getting more and more dishonorable. To kill from afar instead of looking your opponent in the eye. War has turned into a cowards' battle of cheap tricks and long-range weapons. I decided to have no part in it, so the only time I partook in the World War was when a submarine was being destructive to marine life."

"Sinking a submarine would be more detrimental to marine life than letting it be. What with oil spills and—"

"I didn't sink the submarines. I forced the submarines to the surface too fast. The entire crew would get dysbarism and die."

"Dysbarism?" Mairu looked at Izaya. "That's where you get bubbles in your lungs from the pressure change, right?"

"That's right." Izaya confirmed.

"That's evil." Mairu looked at Roppi. "They were innocent soldiers."

"No soldier is innocent. They're willing to die for king and country. Dying in battle is the greatest death a soldier can ask for."

"But you didn't kill them in battle." Izaya said.

"They died in their war machine. It was more than they deserved."

"You know, two wrongs don't make a right."

"But two rights make a left."

Izaya cocked a brow before he realized what Roppi said. He then laughed.

"Well, that's not important I guess." Izaya said.

"Right, what is important is sparring. Get up. Fight me."

"Now, now. I don't think I have a chance of winning against you. That wouldn't be much of a sparring match nor a test of skills."

"Are you telling me you're a pushover, so you don't want to fight?"

"Not in here, at least. And again, hand-to-hand isn't my expertise."

"I could teach. And again, I can teach you to wield a sword."

"We don't have swords. Japan has a weapons ban, Roppi-chan."

Roppi cocked a brow. "Huh?"

"Any blade over the length of 15 cm is illegal. Any blade over the length of 8 cm, you need to have permission to own. Gun and swords have been banned since 1958. Only police men have guns and they have to take hours upon hours of martial arts training because using a gun should be the last resort. Civilians are able to gain a firearm, but you have to go through rigorous background checks, have to have passed a shooting range gun class, a written test, mental test, drug test, and an all-day class. All the results are sent to the local police, in addition to where you keep the gun in your house, where you keep the ammo—which aren't allowed to be stored together. They have to be separated. After that, once a year you have to let the police inspect your gun, and every three years you need to retake the written test and the all-day class."

"Jesus, fuck, seriously?" Roppi squatted in front of Izaya. "That's ridiculous. What's the point of having a gun then?"

"I'd say that's quite reasonable, Roppi. There were only a whopping 2 deaths by gun violence in Japan as of a 2006. 2007 was the worse with 22 deaths; it was considered a national scandal. As far as gun violence goes, Japan is the second lowest in the world. America is the highest with 500 to 10,000 deaths a year."

"Ten thousand? You're exaggerating."

"Nope, in 2008, the USA had over 12,000 gun-related homicides."

"Are you fucking serious?!"

Izaya nodded. "America has the loosest gun-laws in the world. Mind you, America has the highest serial killer production, as well. The USA serial killer database was at two thousand three hundred and…twenty, if I remember correctly. The second highest is England at 116. Japan has 78. I do believe we were the fifth on the list."

"Yeah, but America is ten-times the size of Europe."

"By that logic then all the serial killer databases in Europe, and we'll add in Russia as well—which is bigger than America when counting Siberia—should equal to America's 2000+ score. Know what the grand total is? 746. Not even half of America's."

"You are a thesaurus of weird shit, aren't ya?"

Izaya chuckled.

"Guess that's to be expected from an informant."

"But of course." Izaya smiled with confidence before he opened his eyes. "Meh, but if you want to spar with someone with advanced skills in hand-to-hand combat, I know a guy we can have you pick a fight with."

Izaya pushed himself to his feet.

"Let's skedaddle before Eijirou returns, neh?"

Roppi cocked a brow with judgmental skepticism. "So, we came here for nothing, huh?"

"No, not entirely."

Izaya pointed to a weapons rack. The rack was behind a case of glass and was obviously meant for buying. Inside the case were many lengths, colors, and designed escrima sticks. There were also batons, boxing gloves, dojo shirts, dojo backpacks, dojo jackets and martial artist suits.

"Take your pick." Izaya said.

"You do realize those are locked, right?"

"Just take your pick, Roppi-chan."

Roppi glowered at him. But didn't argue. He grumbled a bit before he looked up at the escrima sticks.

"Those ones are fine." Roppi pointed at a pair of black escrima sticks, just a tad shorter than his arms, with eccentric carvings on the handles.

Izaya nodded and turned to the glass case. Izaya then pulled out a lockpicking kit. He went to the case and undid the lock—no alarm going off, as he expected. He opened the case, pulled out the escrima sticks, and glanced at the price tag. He then closed the case and locked it back up. He handed them to Roppi.

Roppi took them. "I'm not okay with being a thief."

"We're not stealing." Izaya said as he pulled out his wallet.

He pulled out a bit extra of what the escrima sticks were worth and put it on the counter. He pocketed his wallet and smiled back at Roppi.

"See? No stealing to be had here." Izaya said. "I'll even text Mikage later to let her know."

Roppi's eyes narrowed into a glare. Izaya cocked a brow. The mermaid snorted and walked past Izaya towards the door.

 ** _'He's still angry.'_**

"Bye, girls." Izaya waved to his sisters. "Next time, try saying hi instead of die."

"Only when you'll become a decent man, Iza-nii." Mairu smiled back but her tone was biting.

"Bye, Iza-nii." Kururi muttered.

"Oh, I want Roppi-chan's number. Wait a minute!"

"I'll send it to you later. He's still in a bad mood."

Mairu glowered. "And how do I know you won't give me some pedophiles number?"

"Why would I do that to you? My image would be ruined if I went out of my way to target my little sisters, don't you think?"

"You're such a creep."

Izaya chuckled before patting both his sisters on the head. "I'll text you later."

"You better!"

Izaya gave a final wave good-bye before he followed after Roppi. The mermaid already had his shoes on and was in the process of tying his boots up. The escrima sticks sat in the sheath harness that sat at Roppi's waist. Izaya stepped up next to him and slipped on his shoes—which lacked laces. Roppi finished tying his shoes and stood. He was the first out the door.

"Neh, Roppi-chan," Izaya said as the two began walking down the street, leaving the dojo behind. "You don't need to be so angry. Mikage and I never even dated. It was just sex."

"Was she your first?"

"…That's not important."

"It's important to me."

"Why? Mikage and I haven't even seen each other since high school."

"That's a lie. Eijirou said as such."

"It's not necessarily a lie. I started getting back in contact with Mikage a few months ago after an incident. I have great use for her martial arts skills."

"You don't need her anymore now that I'm here then."

"No, she's still useful."

"…Is that all you think about her?"

"Of course."

"I mean, is she useful in other manors? You've had sex once, why not do it again?"

"I haven't. I don't trust her enough to make myself that vulnerable. I'm more than certain the only reason she agreed to ally with me is so she can get revenge against me."

"What'd you do to 'ruin her life'?"

"It was just a scandal back in high school. But Mikage took the fall for the scandal instead of me. It got so bad she had to drop out of high school. You may not know, but adults who lack a diploma have very little job opportunities. Mikage supposedly had no choice but to start working at the family dojo, which Eijirou says ruined her life."

"How the fuck is holding up the family business ruining her life?"

"Eijirou was going to take up the dojo. That was something he had decided to do for a long time. But Mikage-chan had a future. College, a well-paying, stable job. She was quite smart and was able to thrive under pressure. She could have had a very bright future in whatever her dream job was."

"Hm."

"So, yes, I'm more than certain the only reason she's working with me is because she wants to enact revenge on me."

"…If you're certain she's not loyal then why are you aligning with her?"

"She's an amazing martial artist and her skills are very useful to me."

"So? You could find someone else, someone who you can pay to be loyal at the very lease."

"If they can be bought with money then I can't trust them. My enemies can easily buy them off me. Until Mikage-chan can enact her revenge, she'll be loyal."

"Is that how you have _that thing_ working with you?"

"Neikawa-chan?"

Roppi nodded.

"Well, yes. I have information on her love, who is running away from her as we speak. You can probably take a guess that she's not the most sane individual. She started sleeping with her high school teacher and was then slashed by the Saika blade. During the blade's hold, she tried to cut the teacher, but she snapped out of it. Nasujima-sensei had Neikawa-chan transferred to a different school but she's still madly in love with him. Nasujima has since been fired and Neikawa doesn't know where he went. She's working under me in hopes that I'll give her Nasujima's location."

"Fucking lovely."

The two entered an alleyway. They then made a left into a conjoining alley, now standing in between two backends of buildings with two buildings in front and behind them. The sidewalks were out of sight with only trashcans as their company.

Roppi turned on Izaya fast. The informant's eyes widened before his shoulder blades slammed against the wall.

"What are you doing?" Izaya smiled at Roppi, the smile not reaching his eyes as he glared.

"Being jealous." Roppi's hands trailed down Izaya's chest.

"Now, now, calm yourself." Izaya reached up and grabbed Roppi's wrists. "I am absolutely against playing in public."

"What's it matter?"

Izaya tried his best to hide his annoyance. "I know in ancient Greece, you could have sex with who you wanted where ever you wanted. But in the modern world, there are laws against such acts. It's called indecent exposure and it can earn both of us up to three days in prison, if we're lucky and we'll have to register as a sex offender."

"Ya sure that's how that works?"

"I'd rather not take the risk."

"Then let's go to these love hotels I've heard about."

"Roppi…"

Izaya let out a heavy sigh. He then leaned forward and kissed Roppi. The kiss was chaste and sweet.

"Listen to me, Roppi." Izaya started. "I have no interest in Mikage. I am using her as nothing more than muscle. In my plans going ahead, she's an important asset. Nothing more, nothing less. Her and I were never anything more than a fling."

"Then what am I in your grand scheme? Just another fling?"

"I wouldn't let a mere fling live with me. If anything, I can easily fund you with another apartment far away from me. If I just wanted to use you, I wouldn't need to live with you."

"I know that. You've said that before."

"Then _listen_ to what I'm saying instead of assuming. Considering my current situation, taking on a romantic interest is a bit on the stupid side."

"That's supposed to comfort me?"

"Yes. Because the fact that I'm here with you, doing things that are outside of my character just for your sake should be proof enough that you're something more than a useful asset."

Roppi glanced to the side. "…I'm not dumb though. I know the type of person you are, Izaya. You could easily get bored of me and toss me out like yesterday's garbage. Or even worse, you're manipulating me, telling me what I want to hear so I'll stay with you."

"I do have a silver tongue. You and I both know that. But you should also know that I'm the type to hold everyone at arms-length, even my allies."

"Yeah, I figured that already."

"Am I holding you at arms-length?"

"Yes."

"…I would think sharing passion of the flesh would be intimate."

"As you said, it's just sex."

"What I had with Mikage was just sex."

"You also said that you don't hold emotional attachments to sex."

"But the fact that I wanted to do it with you was a sign of intimacy."

"Or a sign of your lack of boner control."

"If it's a lack of control then I wouldn't have to do it with you. I could easily find a one-night stand. Within a convenient timeframe as well. I could get a woman within the end of the hour if I wanted."

"Then why should I expect that that's not what we have? That I'm not just a convenient anohole?"

Izaya tilted his head back in frustration as he let out an exasperated sigh.

"Alright, I concede." Izaya grumbled. "The truth is, Mikage and I did have a romantic relationship. It was slightly more than just sex. I did like her and as you suspected, she was my first. But at that point in time, I had a goal in mind. She was starting to be an obstacle. So, I nipped that love in the bud and let her take the fall for that scandal. I'm more than capable of love, Roppi-san. But as I stated before, I love human equally, impartially. To put one human above the others goes against my philosophy."

"So, you burned her."

"I did. And I now hold no form of romantic feelings for her. It's been about seven years now, after all."

"And if her love has rekindled since seeing you? After all, why would she align herself with a man who fucked up her life?"

"I am more than certain she is working with me so she can get revenge. She's shown no romantic interest."

"She hasn't shown, or you haven't been paying attention? I've noticed that when it comes to love, you're a bit of an airhead."

"I'm not an airhead, I just pretend to be."

"Really?" Roppi glared up at him. "You fucking _pretend_? Meaning you pretended not to realize that taking me to meet your fucking ex was a dick move? Meaning you wanted to fucking piss me off?"

"No, don't—okay, let me correct myself. I have been airheaded with you. But, considering my job, there are many people who try to come onto me, men and women alike. Those ones, I pretend to be airheaded."

"…" Roppi glanced to the side.

"Roppi, I don't know if I like you romantically, but I know that I want you. For now, can't that be good enough?"

"…It could be."

Izaya smiled. Roppi glared up at him.

"If you told me even a cunt-hair about yourself." Roppi growled. "I don't know anything about you but the size of your dick and that you shower everyday. The little things that you do at home, I know it all at this point. But I wasn't allowed to know about your bartering chip, or that thing called Neikawa, or even what your plans are or your enemies! I know absolutely nothing about the war you're starting! But…you expect me to trust you. To trust you with my children, when all I know there could be a sniper sitting outside our window."

"If I was worried about a sniper, I wouldn't live in the house I live in."

"You're missing the point!"

"I know, I know." Izaya reached his hand under Roppi's coat and began rubbing the spinal column between his shoulder blades. "I know. Don't get upset."

"Why shouldn't I?"

Izaya put his other hand against Roppi's face, moving the black locks out of the way. He then bumped foreheads with the mermaid. Izaya then kissed Roppi again. There was more passion behind this one, pressing his lips against Roppi with vigor. Roppi kissed back, holding the stomach of Izaya's shirt.

The two separated.

"Alright," Izaya started, grabbing Roppi's hand and turning towards the mouth of the alleyway. "Let me explain to you about Yodojiri Jinnai."


	19. Chapter 19

"So, that's where the scar came from, huh?" Roppi started.

"Yes." Izaya smiled at him but it was a façade. Roppi knew that. "I underestimated him."

"Hm…" Roppi glared at the ground, hands tucked in his pockets while his coat had slid down to around his biceps. "So, you're putting your war of three on hold until Yodojiri done-zo."

"No. I know how to multitask. It's why I gave the head to Neikawa. Things are going my way as far as the war is going. But Yodojiri and I are at a stalemate. I need to get the upper-hand."

"You know, Izaya, I have no qualms with killing humans. I can eat him, and no one would even know he existed." Roppi glanced at him, as if asking for permission to do so.

"I don't even know what Yodojiri looks like."

"You didn't see the face of the man who stabbed you?"

"No. I wasn't expecting him. I was…I was talking on the phone with him then I heard his voice in both the phone and in my right ear. To make a move the very second he declares war, that's not what I was expecting."

"Dude, that's creepy as fuck. Hearing his voice in the phone and in your ear? That give me the chills."

"I believe that was the point."

"It's smart, though." Roppi looked at him. "To declare war right before an attack. It doesn't give your enemy time to prepare, meaning you could win the war right as it starts."

"He should have stabbed me more times if that was the case."

"Not really. You stab someone in the kidney and they'll lose all mobility from the blood pressure drop. If you hadn't been on a busy street, you would have bled out."

"Well, yes. But I don't think he wanted to kill me. He was making a statement."

"…Probably. If he wanted to finish you off, then he could have attacked you while you were isolated. Or had those assassins sniper you."

"It's possible it wouldn't mean anything if he didn't do it himself."

"…You know, you kind of brought it on yourself."

"Well, of course."

"No, that's not what I mean. I mean, like…"

Roppi glanced to the side.

"In comparison, you're a child and the adult had to put you back in your place."

Izaya cocked a brow. "Explain."

"Well, you used Akane to what? Play a 'prank' on this Shizu-chan. It was a deadly prank, but a prank, nonetheless. In comparison, Yodojiri was planning on using Akane to gain control of the Awakusu-kai group. The Awakusu-kai, who was in the process of uniting with the Asuki group. This guy was going to have two yakuza groups under his thumb. And you come along and ruined it to settle what would be considered a petty rivalry. You were a child and he was a very pissed off adult. So, he whipped you, hoping you'd learn your lesson."

"And instead he made any enemy."

"An enemy that I don't think he's very scared of."

"He'll be scared of me by the end. I'll make sure of it."

Roppi noticed an evil glint in Izaya's eyes. It was a glint that Roppi had never seen before, something different than what shown in Izaya's usually playful gaze. There was no display of maniacal happiness or excitement. But pure determination and malice.

Roppi felt a ball of excitement fill his stomach. Or maybe it was a period cramp. Who was to say? Roppi smiled, nonetheless.

Then Roppi's smile fell as he glanced to the side.

"Hey, Izaya…"

"Hm?" Izaya looked at him.

Roppi adverted his eyes. He had his head down and his hands in his pockets. "What if I told you I knew what Yodojiri Jinnai looked like?"

Izaya's eyes widened as he paused mid-stride. Roppi kept walking.

"Wait, Roppi!" Izaya rushed up, hand reached out to grab the mermaids shoulder.

A hand grabbed Izaya's shoulder instead.

"Ee-Zai-Ya! Long time see none! Yoo come for sushi! No fight Shi-Zoo-Oh day! Yoo come buy sushi! Half price sale today! Other half go on tab! Pay next time within interest!"

Izaya looked over at the big, black Russian. Roppi stopped and turned around.

Izaya chuckled. "That's quite the scam you have going, Simon-san. But I'm actually not here for lunch. I'm—"

"Oh my god, who is this man, Izaya?!" Roppi rammed into Izaya's side as he hugged Izaya's arm to his body.

 ** _'Ow.'_** The informant though to the dull ache in his ribs.

For a moment, Izaya thought Roppi had never seen a black man before, considering such an exaggerated response. But a quick look at Roppi's face said otherwise. He looked…excited? There was a flush to his cheeks and a glint of what Izaya could consider lust in his eyes. Izaya cocked a brow.

"Hm. Yoo be must Row-Pii. I see Dollars video." Simon smiled down at Roppi. "Make good man out of Ee-Zai-Ya! Love changes worlds!"

"Oh! I'm honored that you know me, but I think we should make proper introductions." Roppi stepped back and displayed a mixture of a gentleman's bow and a curtsy. Roppi crossed one leg behind the other and lowered himself. But instead of flaring his arms out in elegance, he placed a hand over his heart and lowed the top half of his body in a bow. "My name's Hachimenroppi Constantine. Son of Aden Constantine and Shizuka."

Izaya cocked a brow. **_'Constantine?'_**

Simon smiled happily. "Me Simon Brezhnev. I sushi chef."

"Oh, you're a chef?" Roppi stood up straight, smiling up at Simon. He brought his hand up and began twirling the tip of his hair around his index finger while his other arm wrapped around his body to hold his elbow as support. "With your incredible stature, I would have assumed you were a wrestler or boxer. Maybe even a police man."

"Simon's a foreigner, Roppi." Izaya said, casing the mermaid a glare. "I don't think it's possible for him to apply for the police academy. He can't even speak proper Japanese."

"Oh? Where are you from, Simon-san?"

"I from Russia." Simon smiled.

"Russia. That's such a powerful country. No wonder you're so muscular!"

"Thank yoo!"

Izaya's eyes narrowed even more.

"Well, Simon." Izaya stepped in front of Roppi. "We actually did come here to fight. Roppi here needs a sparing buddy and I think you're the next best after Shizu-chan. So, would you mind—"

"Oh no, Izaya!" Roppi said. "I couldn't leave bruises on such a beautiful man!"

Izaya turned around faster than he should to glare at Roppi. Roppi cocked a brow before he tilted his head to the side, smiling a sadistic smile. Roppi didn't understood then but he understood now. Izaya knew he understood. And Roppi seemed to be enjoying his understanding.

Izaya's glare darkened. "Weren't you the one who said not fighting someone would be a waste of a day? That's why we came here."

"Ee-Zai-Ya, that bad. Yoo should no fight! Fight make yoo hungry! Make your belly emptily empty! Come have sushi! Fatty tuna is Ee-Zai-Ya's favorite, no?"

"We—"

"I could eat." Roppi said, stepping forward to intertwine his fingers with Izaya's. "Let's get lunch."

"You were the one who said—"

"I know. But I don't want to fight him. He's too pretty to beat up. I'd rather see how good his cooking is."

"If you want food, I know much better restaurants."

"That's rude, Izaya." Roppi glared at him. "I wanna try it."

Izaya glowered at him.

"Come!" Simon said, coming around to put each of his huge hands on the two brunette's backs. "We have sushi. Make love dish! Have hearts and liver!"

Roppi giggled. "How is liver a love dish?"

"Come eat! Find out for self!"

Roppi chuckled and looked up at Izaya. "I like this guy."

"…I noticed." Izaya said dryly. He then let out an exasperated sigh of irritation. "Fine. Let's go."

"Yay!" Roppi kissed Izaya's cheek. "Thank you."

Izaya just grumbled.

The two Asian's followed after the African. Roppi interlocked his arms around Izaya's, no different than a girl does with her boyfriend. Izaya couldn't bring himself to be happy with that. Roppi had just blatantly flirted in front of him without a care. Sure, they weren't dating. Izaya had brought that on himself. But Roppi shouldn't be so shameless when he claimed to love him. Was Roppi's love just a shallow fling? Maybe the mermaid was a slut who slept with anyone. Maybe Roppi was the manipulative one, using Izaya for his money while she went around and had sex with whoever she wanted. Was that why Roppi wanted to go out by himself so badly? So that Izaya couldn't see him cheating on him.

No, it wasn't cheating. They weren't dating. There was no cheating to be had.

It still pissed Izaya off.

"Ee-Zai-Ya," Simon said. "They say furrowed brows make yoo look older. Ruin pretty features."

Izaya's eyes widened. He wasn't aware he had been displaying his annoyance. That thought irritated the informant even more, but he didn't show it as he put his mask back on and smiled.

"What are you talking about, Simon? Your Japanese seems to only be getting worse."

Simon smiled at him. Smiled a knowing smile that infuriated Izaya. The Russian turned forward and entered the Sushi shop. Roppi and Izaya followed.

The three took off their street shoes in the genkan. Simon then led them to the front counter, seating them on two stools. Two empty stools were on either side of them, giving the two plenty of elbow room from the other customers.

"Hello." Dennis said, the white Russian turning around to face them. "Welcome back, Izaya. Would you like your usual?"

"That's fine."

Dennis nodded as he handed a menu to Roppi. He then placed two cups of water in front of them before turning back around to make Izaya's food.

"I leave yoo twoo do it." Simon said, patting them both on back. "Love dish make everyone happy!"

"Thank you, Simon." Roppi said with a gentle smile.

The black man turned around and headed back out of the restaurant. Roppi watched him go. Izaya's eyes narrowed as he stared at the mermaid.

Once Simon was officially out of sight, Roppi turned his attention back to the menu.

"Mustard Sushi?" Roppi voiced. "What is that?"

"You don't want to know." Izaya said.

"Hm. Well, they definitely have an eccentric menu."

"That's why I said I know better restaurants."

"And yet you eat here often enough to have a usual." Roppi didn't even look at Izaya while saying such a statement with a matter-of-fact tone.

Izaya didn't answer. He rested his elbow on the table and put his mouth against his palm.

"You don't need to be in such a bad mood." Roppi said. "We can find someone else for me to spar."

"Yes, preferably someone you won't spread your legs for."

Roppi finally turned his head to look at him. Izaya cast the mermaid a glare.

"That's a very vulgar thing to say, Izaya." Roppi said with a biting tone. "I thought you had more tact than that."

Izaya remained silent.

"What, are you jealous?"

Silence.

"How's that foot to swallow?"

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind."

"The worlds already blind. But I'm not really worried about the world. I'm worried about you and me."

"You say you like me, but you just flirt with a man right in front of me without a care."

"Well, yeah. It's been over twelve years since I've seen my type."

"You said you like blond hair, blue eyes, muscular."

"Yup."

"Simon's African."

"With white hair and beautiful blue eyes. And did you see the muscles on him?" Roppi put the menu down for a second, turning to face Izaya in order to give the irate informant his undivided attention. "Skin tone doesn't matter to me. In Greece, there were a lot of dark-skinned individuals. The sun was quite harsh, so everyone was pretty tanned unless they were royalty. Heracles was actually very dark with black hair and brown eyes."

"Hm." Izaya glowered at the table.

"You're the one who said we weren't dating." Roppi's voice lowered with the threat of anger. "You don't have a right to get jealous when you refuse to start a relationship with me."

"I'm aware. But don't think for a moment that I'm going to allow you to stay in my house if you go off and sleep with who knows who. I'm not your babysitter for your booty calls."

"I wouldn't do that to you. I have more respect for you than that."

"…That's reassuring."

"I'm glad. Neh, chef-san." Roppi called to Dennis, turning to face forward. Dennis looked over his shoulder. "Can I get a platter of fatty tuna sashimi and nigiri, please?"

Izaya cocked a brow.

"Of course." Dennis said and faced front.

"You're ordering the same thing I get." Izaya said.

Roppi turned his head to look at him. "I didn't know that. Fatty tuna's good."

"I can agree with that."

"But just so you know, Izaya." Roppi put his hands around his cup of water. "I won't be doing anything with Simon-san. He's pretty, I'll admit that. But I don't want to try anything with him. With two kids, being promiscuous is not something to practice right now."

"So once the kids are gone by the end of the year, you're going to start sleeping around?"

"I would like to be dating you by the end of the year." Roppi cast him a sidelong glare. "If you and I still aren't in a relationship by then, then sure as shit, I'm not sticking around. Your life is too short for me to waste my time on something that won't happen."

"Well, you could give me the secret to immortality."

Roppi paused. He then faced Izaya. "Are you asking me for ambrosia?"

Izaya didn't answer. Merely stared at him.

"I don't think that's something we should talk about here." Roppi glanced around at the two people who were sitting a chair away from them. "Anyone could be listening."

"You're right." Izaya put him arm down to rest on the table. "Just verifying, you aren't lying to me when you say that you won't sleep around?"

"Just verifying, you and I will or will not be in a relationship by the end of the year so if I do sleep around, it's because you rejected me and thus it'll be none of your business, right?"

"…Touché."

"I've never been the type to sleep around anyway. I may not be able to get STD but that doesn't mean any grimy dick will do. Last thing I want is to get a yeast infect because some guy had smegma."

"EW! Roppi!"

"It's happened before."

"EW!" Izaya covered his face. "We're about to eat, Roppi. Don't talk about things like that."

"Did I get my point across?"

"Yes."

"Then it served a purpose."

"Ew. Ew. Ew!"

Roppi smiled. "See, when you live as long as I have, subtly is meaningless."

"That carefree nature of yours…"

Roppi chuckled.

Izaya shook his head.

"Are we…" Roppi started. "Okay now?"

Izaya looked at him. "…As good as we can be, all things considered. We're even now."

Roppi smiled. "I guess we are."

"Let's just drop the subject and talk about something else."

"Agreed. What do you want to talk about?"

"Don't forget about what you said earlier, about Yodojiri. We can't talk about it here, but we definitely need to talk about it."

"Okay."

"In the meantime, why don't you explain 'Hachimenroppi Constantine'."

Roppi cocked a brow. "What about me?"

"I didn't know you had a family name."

"Well, yeah. My mother didn't, and she refused to take on my dad's last name when they got married. Well, technically, they never got married. They were mated for life, but they didn't go through a traditional ceremony or anything like that. But, anyway, her reasoning was that you don't need more than one name. It gets too confusing."

"I would assume mermaids only had one."

"You assumed wrong."

"You never told me otherwise."

"You never asked."

"I asked for your name the night you nearly killed me, recall?"

"Well…yeah, but considering your request, I didn't think you wanted my mouthful of a name. So, I just gave you my first name." Roppi shrugged nonchalantly.

"You know, in Japan we call people by their family name unless we're on close terms with them. Here, you would be known as Constantine Hachimenroppi. So, saying it's your first name can get a bit confusing."

"What do you call it then?"

"Family names and given names."

"Well, in America they call it your first and last name. I actually have a middle name too."

"I don't understand the function of a middle name."

"It's because out of the twenty thousand Johnathan Anderson's that are around this world, the middle name might be the only difference. And the middle name can have more symbolism. For instance, Miss Sharon. Her family had a tradition of giving the daughter the middle name 'Pearl' and the men 'John Ray'. So, even if the daughters lose their last name in marriage, they'd still have the name of their original family."

"It just doesn't seem to serve a purpose, even in the grand scheme of what you explained."

"Well, Asians don't really need it. They have over 1,000 characters in their language so even if they get a normal name, the spelling can make it unique. Like your name, and Hibiya's. In comparisons to English's alphabet of 26, there's not that much room for creativity."

"So instead of trying to be original, they just add more names on?"

"I don't know, I'm met some people with pretty original names. Met this woman named Leeya, and usually 'Leah' is spelt l-e-a-h. But she had it spelt l-e-e-y-a. And a girl named Taleea. Usually it's supposed to be pronounced Ta-lia and spelt t-a-l-i-a, but her name was pronounced Ta-Lee-a—like a male version of Lee—and spelt t-a-l-e-e-a. It was pretty cool. And I also met a kid named Nicodemus. Everyone called him Nic, which is obviously a very common name, but you say his full name and it's unique."

"Waah, interesting."

"Ain't it?"

"Here you are." Dennis said, putting two platters of fatty tuna in front of Izaya and Roppi. He then poured two sake glasses with the rice-made alcohol and placed the small bottle of sake in between them.

"Thank you." Roppi said.

"Thank you, Dennis." Izaya said.

The Russian nodded and returned to his stand to make more orders.

"Well, then, what's your full name?" Izaya asked before putting a piece of sushi in his mouth.

"Hachimenroppi Arden Constantine." Roppi took a drink of water.

"Pwah, that really is a mouthful."

"Arden is what my dad wanted to call me, but my mom named we Hachimenroppi. Hachimenroppi is spelt 八面六臂, so it mostly means versatile and well-rounded, but I personally like the Chinese meaning, which is eight faces, six arms. Arden is Hebrew for the Garden of Eden. And Constantine is Greek for constant. So, if you want to put meaning behind my name, it's 'the Garden of Eden that is versatile yet constant'. Or, 'the eight-faced, six-armed constant Garden of Eden'."

"That makes it sound like the Garden of Eden is a monster instead of a place."

"Yeah, that's why I don't put meaning behind my name."

Izaya chuckled.

"On the note of names," Roppi said through a mouthful of food. "Why is your name pronounced Izaya when it should be Nozaya, considering the spelling?"

"Because my parents wanted it that way."

Roppi cocked a brow. "That's it?"

"Yup. They wanted my name to be pronounced after Isaiah."

"Isaiah the prophet?"

"Mm-hm."

"And the fact that you have a god-complex is just coincidence?"

"It is. But the name suits me, doesn't it?"

"…I'd say so."

Izaya smiled. "Well, Constantine-san, how would you like me to refer to you? Since you are my senior, by quite a lot, it would be rude to call you by your given name."

"You're accent fucking destroys my name. Please don't call me Constantine again."

"That's quite rude."

"Not my fault you have an accent."

"You know, you have an accent too."

"I should. I'm Greek."

"You do. Your accent ruins Japanese words sometimes."

"That's to be expected."

"I thought you lose your accent if you speak another language for too long."

"You can. But this is the first time in twelve years I've spoken Japanese."

"Nanasaki knew Greek?"

"Don't know. He knew Spanish. He had to have, in order to talk to that Puerto Rican fuck."

"Wait, you never spoke to Nanasaki?"

"Nope. I was gagged, drugged or underwater. I doubt he even knew what my voice sounded like in those twelve years."

"That would make it much easier for him to use you as payment despite how long he owned you."

"There were a lot of factors that led to him wanting to get rid of me. One of them was your Yodojiri friend."

Izaya paused to stare at him.

"I can't explain here," Roppi said, glancing around, "but…"

Roppi turned his head, taking in a full 360 of the room and the people in it. Once he believed it to be safe, Roppi leaned over. He pressed his mouth close to Izaya's ear, using those beautiful lips to put Izaya in shock.

Roppi whispered. "Yodojiri is Hibiya and Tsukishima's father."


	20. Chapter 20

Izaya's eyes widened. Roppi backed off and returned to his food, eating as if he hadn't just dropped a bombshell of information.

A pit of excitement and anxiety grew in Izaya's belly. On the note of excitement, he had the ultimate weapon to use against Yodojiri. He had his very children, who loved Izaya dearly. One was even imprinted on him. And by the end of the year, they'd be grown adults with the strength of Heiwajima Shizuo. Izaya would be safe from any attack Yodojiri threw at him if he held any sentimental value towards his spawns.

But on the note of anxiety, the fact that Izaya has them under his roof just painted an even bigger target on his back. If Yodojiri didn't want to kill him then, he may want to now. And if he did now, Izaya's life was in actual danger. Instead of trying to take down Yodojiri with Yodojiri hiding and running from him as they had been so far, Yodojiri might go on the attack and pursue Izaya in return. What's more, he had left the two infants alone. They were with Celty, who would be able to keep them safe, but the notion that if Roppi wanted to take his children on an outing without Izaya present meant all three of them could be kidnapped right out from under Izaya's nose.

The stakes were raised with that one bit of knowledge.

"But anyway," Roppi said, "I haven't spoken much in the last twelve years unless it was to myself, and that was mostly to make sure I didn't forget my voice sounded like. That happened a few times over the years and it scares the piss out of me. I like taking hydro's because of the notion I can't be raped but I don't like taking them constantly. Before Nanasaki, I spoke Spanish to that Puerto Rican. Before that I was by myself, but before _that_ I spoke English to Miss Sharon."

"How many languages do you know?"

"All of them? Unless there was a new one added in the last twelve years."

"You know every language in the world?"

"Yup."

"There's 6500 languages in the world."

"No, there is not!"

"There is."

"There isn't!"

"There's about 2000 languages in Africa alone."

"There is not. Africa speaks Swahili and Egyptian. That's it."

"They don't. Africa has a very diverse spectrum of people, ranging from tribes to city folk. Every tribe has their own dialect and the top of Africa has a completely different language than the bottom."

"That's fricken retarded."

"You're insulting someone's culture again."

"But it is. There weren't that many languages a thousand years ago."

"The worlds evolved a lot since then."

"For the worse, apparently! How does anyone in Africa communicate with each other? The notion that someone speaks the same language is nil if there's 2000 languages!"

"China has a lot of diverse languages too. Mandarin is the most common, but many rural towns have their own dialect. Japan has some too. Tsugaru is a dialect in Aomiri prefecture."

"I thought Tsugaru was the name of a river."

"Nope, there's the Tsugaru peninsula, even a city called Tsugaru, but Tsugaru as a concept is a dialect."

"The fuck, man? That's so fucking dumb. One region should have one language. Not 10,000!"

"That's just how the world works."

Roppi snorted, looking openly annoyed. "Well, then I know all the main languages of the world."

"And that would be?"

"Morse, Sign, English, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese Mandarin, Korean, Russian, Slavic, Germanic, Romanian, Hungarian, French, Italian, Portuguese, Aramaic, Native, Sanskrit, Hindu, Ancient Greek, Current Greek, Gaelic, Ancient Egyptian, Arabic, Old Prussian, Turkic, Mongolian, Latin, Akkadian, Biblical Hebrew, Current Hebrew, Coptic, Middle English, Old Norse, Cyrillic, Sumerian, and Armenian."

Izaya's eyes widened under his closed eyelids as his brows rose. He whistled, honestly impressed.

 **"You know, you repeated a few of those languages. Russian is a sublanguage of Slavic."** Izaya said in fluent Russian.

Roppi glowered at him. **"Are you speaking in Russian just to see if I can do it?"**

 **"Who knows."**

Roppi scoffed. **"Yes, I'm aware Russian is a sublanguage. I just didn't want to explain I knew the whole bundle, but I wanted to make a point I know Russian because of Simon."**

 **"Ah, I see. You must have had plenty of time to learn, so I guess it makes sense that you know so much. Although, a lot of those languages are dead now."**

 **"I'm aware. That's why I made a point to say I knew the current versions as well."**

 **"Hmm. Do you really know Akkadian?"**

Roppi nodded. **"I learned from Anubis."**

 **"How did Anubis know?"**

 **"Anubis wasn't born in Egypt. He didn't learn Egyptian until he was a god, in which case he could magic himself into understanding. There's no language barriers between the five factions, by the way, because of that reason. But anyway, Anubis was born far out in the desert, in this tiny little tribe that lived next to a spring. He's a desert rat. That place apparently spoke a version of Akkadian. Anubis was forced to leave and him and Bara traveled for eight days before they reached Sodom. In Sodom, he learned Sumerian."**

 **"Oh, why were they forced to leave?"**

 **"Not my story."**

Izaya's smile instantly fell. For a solid five seconds, he glowered at Roppi. Roppi noticed the attitude and glowered right back.

Izaya then scoffed and rolled his eyes. **"You know, it's a bit annoying when you explain small tidbits then get cryptic. You have Anubis's permission and you've already explained enough that I can figure something unsightly must have happened to him. If you don't explain, then I can just assume he was raped and killed, which led him to getting ambrosia."**

Roppi jolted. **"Why would you come to that assumption?!"**

 **"It's Sodom. As in Sodom and Gomorrah, the two most sinful cities the world had ever seen. according to the bible. Why would I expect something wholesome?"**

Roppi glowered at him platter. **"I hate how smart you are sometimes."**

 **"Likewise."**

Roppi let out a heavy sigh. **"Fine. Well, Anubis' mother died birthing him."**

 **"Fitting, considering he's a death god."**

 **"That's probably the Fates playing their game. Anyway, Anubis' father loathed him because of his mother's death. It was pretty bad. Apparently, Anubis was locked in a room with no windows. He was fed once a day. He was bathed once a week. He sat in that room roasting with nothing better to do than stare at the sand hole in the middle of it. Then at night, he struggled not the freeze to death. He apparently didn't know how to talk till he was eight or nine years old. And he had no basic understanding of, well, anything human. He understood pain, he understood hungry and thirsty, he understood dirt eventually made him itchy and uncomfortable, and he understood threats. That was about it. Bara had to teach him all this and Bara was only three years older than him, so he didn't register he had to teach Anubis until Bara was ten—making Anubis seven. All Bara really knew was that he had to feed Anubis every day and bathe him once a week. His father refused to acknowledge Anubis' existence, so it was up to this little kid Bara to do it.**

 **"When Anubis was a teenager, probably about sixteen, Anubis' father decided he wanted to kill him. Anubis was none the wiser until way later on in life. Bara just said they had to leave. They couldn't stay any longer, so he took Anubis and ran. They traveled the desert for six days before they got picked up by a slave caravan. They were taken to Sodom, where they were both sold to a priest of Ra—the first and only in the city. The Egyptian religion was just starting out, apparently. Obviously, they were renowned in Egypt and the religion was established for nearly 100 years, but 100 years was considered 'just starting out' by the other's viewpoint. Anyway, this was their attempt to spread their religion out and Sodom was the closest place outside their territory."**

 **"Quite lucky that they were sold together. Were they the same body type?"**

 **"…Well, no. Anubis was quite malnourished. He was scrawny from never going outside and getting proper exercise. Bara was a beefy motherfucker since he had to hunt and travel long distances to hunt. And their skin tones were pretty different too. Bara is significantly darker than Anubis, who is still Arabian but never got sun until he was like twelve, so he is what you would call pale—despite having dark skin. They weren't the same body type at all."**

 **"Yet they were sold together?"**

 **"They were brothers."**

 **"That doesn't mean they would be sold together. It's not uncommon for family's to be put together but end up being sold separately. It all depends on the buyers taste and if the buyer has no need for more than one, what's to stop them from separating them? No different from getting a pet from a shelter. You don't want the entire litter of four, but one kitten."**

 **"…That fact that you can speak from the view point of a slave owner…"**

 **"Don't just to conclusion's. You're the first 'person' I've ever 'bought'. I've done extensive studies in all types of things, Roppi-chan. Especially the slave plantations of America. There's was an interesting movie that came out recently called 12 Years A Slave and it was the tale of a free black man from the north who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the south."**

Roppi cocked a brow. **" 12 Years A Slave? Really? Is that just a coincidence?"**

 **"What do you mean?"**

 **"I was under Nanasaki for twelve years."**

Izaya's eyes widened. **"I didn't realize that correlated.*"**

Roppi held back a laugh.

Izaya chuckled. **"Maybe twelve is the Fates lucky number."**

Roppi's smile fell as he glanced to the side.

Izaya grabbed Roppi's hand. **"Well, anyway. Back to what we were discussing. The likelihood that Anubis and Bara would have been sold together just because they were brothers is unlikely. From what you said, Anubis has the body of a sex slave whereas Bara was more of a manual laborer. It wouldn't make sense to sell them together."**

 **"…That's not important. What's important is they were sold together."**

Izaya cocked a brow but said nothing, making a mental note.

 **"Anyway,"** Roppi continued, **"this priest was a righteous cunt. He took Anubis on as a sex slave and Bara was his bodyguard. Bara had to witness at lot of heinous acts happen to his little brother. Bara promised Anubis that he'd get them away from that shithole of a temple. He just had to be patient else they'd both be killed. So, Anubis was as patient as he could be considering the situation. Mind you, the priest never penetrated Anubis. Molestations and forced orgasm and blowjobs, but never deflowering. One day, a guard led Anubis to the cliffside above the temple and told him to dig. Anubis did and found a corpse with the same collar and body jewelry he was wearing. The guard explained that that was what happened to the toys the priest got bored with. And Anubis will know he's bored of him when he gets penetrated. The priest wanted to play with his toys and having sex means that Anubis will be spoiled goods afterwards.**

 **"Anubis was not and is not a weak individual. He didn't break down or freak out. Well, internally, he was freaking out. He just found out his life was in danger whether he attempted to escape or not. But on the outside, he was very calm about the situation. And he was thinking rationally, despite everything. He knew that if he started doing what his master said he's become bored quicker. So, Anubis developed even more of an attitude than he had. Telling his master he wasn't doing shit unless he got red grapes—a delicacy and very rare in that part of the world—or he wasn't taking a bath till he got special salts for it. Then the next day, Anubis would change his attitude and be playful or loving. His goal was to constantly keep his master on his toes, not knowing what mood Anubis would be in that day. After all, that's not boring, is it?**

 **"That's…why he was chosen as Set's heir. Set was impressed with Anubis's resolve. Him and Ra and a few other Egyptians had been watching the scene from The Palace of Ra. They all took an interest in Bara, who was a fast learner and was promising Anubis every day that he'd get them away from that place. Everyone took notice of Bara because of his tenaciousness. Set took notice of Anubis because he wasn't acting the same way the other slaves had acted. Of course, that priest had been called every curse in the book by previous slaves. But he had never been called 'dull', 'dimwitted', or 'sad'—which is what Anubis would call him when the master pissed him off. Set was interested in Anubis' resolve.**

 **"Eventually, the day came when his master wanted to bed Anubis. Anubis put up quite the fight, broke a few of his master's fingers and even his nose. He even bit off his master's ear. The Egyptian's called Anubis a savage dog and were repulsed with him. Some even said he should have just died with dignity. Putting up that much of a fight was only postponing the inevitable and the fact that he didn't just accept it and keep his dignity intact made many of them sick of Anubis. Bara luckily came in before there was any penetration and saved Anubis. He killed the master and the two made their way through the temple. There was a total of 6 guards and 4 other priests. Bara killed them all with a single sword. Everyone on Egypt was impressed. So, impressed that Ra came down and offered Bara ambrosia. Bara made the point to ask about Anubis and Ra said there was no place for Anubis in his palace. Bara then refused Ra's offer. Ra was quite surprised by that. He was offering immortality and a mortal refused in favor of his little brother. Ra caved and gave both Bara and Anubis ambrosia."**

 **"It sounds like Anubis wasn't really liked on Egypt, was he?"**

 **"Oh, fuck no. Everyone hated him. He was uncivilized, savage, and rude from what they said. He didn't know how to read or write, didn't know math, didn't know basic etiquette, didn't know much of anything other than how to talk. Thoth was a complete thundercunt since it fell on him to teach Anubis. He was one of those teachers that became annoyed if you don't understand something. He had no patience for Anubis and he annoyed Anubis to no end with his constant 'it's not that hard, just use your brain' bullshit. Eventually, Anubis told Thoth to fuck off. Thoth told Ra he couldn't teach Anubis, who wasn't able to learn. That same night, Anubis was late to dinner. Halfway through, Anubis came in with his lessons book Thoth had had him writing in. He slammed it down in front of Thoth, sat down, and started to eat without saying a word to him. Thoth looked through the book. Anubis had finished it. The entire book. And there wasn't one mistake."**

 **"Impressive."**

 **"Thoth wasn't impressed. Instead, he was pissed off because Anubis proved him wrong. Anubis didn't really care though. Set and Ra, on the other hand, were more than impressed. Set took a huge interest in Anubis then. He tried Anubis' hand-to-hand combat skills and was left even more impressed. After that, Set went to talk to Ra. And that's all she wrote."**

 **"…Hm. You were worried I'd think ill of Anubis because of that? He seems tenacious."**

 **"He is. He's amazing! But…his story only goes downhill from there."**

Roppi adverted his eyes.

"You know what, we should shut up and eat. We've been here for a while." Roppi said in Japanese.

Izaya chuckled. "I guess you're right."

The two fell silent as they went about eating their sushi. With conversation, it took them a total of ten minutes to finish off their platters. They sipped on their water and sake through the meal. Once they were done, they began drinking strictly sake. Neither of them were getting intoxicated—as this type of sake was not nearly strong enough to do such.

"Neh, Roppi-san, how high is your alcohol tolerance?" Izaya asked.

"Mm, pretty okay. Soldiers drink a lot. Although, it wasn't Egyptian custom to get drunk—like at all—the Greeks always wanted to party after a victory to keep morale high."

"Were you an alcoholic?"

"No way. I love myself too much to do that."

"Hm." Izaya poured Roppi another glass. Then himself.

Roppi took another gulp of sake. Izaya did as well.

"Are you ready to go?" Izaya asked.

"I need to take a piss. But yeah."

Izaya laughed, shook his head and rolled his eyes to the blunt statement. "Alright. Bathroom's that way on the left." Izaya pointed. "I'll take care of the bill."

"Thank you."

Roppi stood and shrugged off his coat. He lied it on the stool he just vacated then walked off to do as stated. Izaya just chuckled. He watched Roppi go with a smile on his face. Once the mermaid turned the corner and was officially out of sight, Izaya raised his hand.

"Neh, Dennis. Ring me o—"

"IZAYA!"

The raven's eyes widened as he jolted. He looked over shoulder right as the hood of his jacket was grabbed. He was yanked from his seat and pulled upwards. He had to lean on one foot in order to just get his tip toes to touch the ground while he held onto his hood with both hands.

"Shi-Shizu-chan!" Izaya said in surprise.

"Can't run away this time, can you, you damn flea?!"

"What are you doing here?"

"What am _I_?! What are _you_ doing in Ikebukuro?! HAH?!" Shizuo started shaking the informant.

"It was unavoidable, I assure you!"

"Unavoidable my ass!"

"I didn't even do anything today! I was just enjoying a meal with—I was just enjoying a meal! Just let me off for today."

"Sure, I'll let you off! After I beat the shit out of you for last time!"

"For last—that was _your fault_! You're the idiot that broke my grocery bag!"

"WHO'S AN IDIOT?!" Shizuo shook Izaya violently.

The raven put his arms up. He slipped out of his jacket and landed on the ground in a crouch with a knife in his hand. He flicked the blade open and swiped at Shizuo. Shizuo backed away out of instinct. The black of his waist coat was sliced, the white underneath tearing away as well to expose pink flesh.

"YOU BASTARD!" Shizuo yelled.

The blond threw the coat at Izaya. The coat wrapped around Izaya's head with enough force to pull the raven backwards. Izaya groaned as he fell back on his rump. The informant pulled the coat down in time to see Shizuo charge at him.

"HEY!"

In a flash of blue and black, a person stood in between Izaya and Shizuo. Said person grabbed Shizuo's swinging fist. He pressed his back against the arm, pushing it out of the way, then swung his foot up. The bottom of his socked foot slammed into Shizuo's chin, sending his head careening back.

"Shizuo!" Tom called in surprise as Shizuo stumbled backwards.

Izaya stood up, tossing his coat on. **_'He made Shizu-chan stumble back. I wanted to avoid using Shizu-chan as Roppi's sparing partner. The brutes liable to break something, even if they are on equal playing fields as far as brute strength goes. But I don't doubt Roppi could take Shizu-chan in a fight.'_**

The raven backed away as Shizuo rubbed his chin. The blond was panting hard and tears streaked his cheeks from his wide brown eyes.

Izaya's eyes widened to the sight.

 ** _'He's crying. Roppi's blow really hurt hi—'_**

"Shizuo?" Roppi said.

Izaya couldn't see the mermaids face, as he was standing behind Roppi, but his voice was thick with tears.

"Is that really you?"

"Eh?" Izaya voiced.

Roppi rushed forward with his arms outstretched. Without warning, he wrapped his arm around Shizuo's waist—Shizuo a head taller than him—and reached his arms up to grab Shizuo's shoulder blades. He buried his face in Shizuo's chest while his whole form shook. Shizuo was also shaking as he pulled his hands outwards in surprise.

 ** _'What is…'_**

Shizuo then clenched his teeth tight and hugged Roppi back. He buried his face in Roppi's hair and began rocking back and forth in a soothing matter.

 ** _'They…know each other? When have these two met?'_**

Shizuo's eyes widened, seemingly in realization. He gasped and grabbed Roppi by his shoulders, shoving him away. Roppi's eyes stretched wide.

"Wait, no." Shizuo looked down at his feet, holding Roppi away from him. "I-I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry."

"Don't kn—no, that's fine. You never resonated before, so of course you wouldn't know."

 ** _'Wait, that's what Roppi called Resonating?'_** Izaya thought. **_'That means Shizuo is—'_**

"I'm just happy to see you again."

"Wha—" Shizuo attempted to say something.

"Ah, you've grown so much." Roppi smiled up at the faux blond. "You dyed your hair too. Heh, like that you kind of look like your grandmother. But you took on your grandpa's square jaw."

"Wait, how do you—"

"You've turned into quite a handsome man." Roppi grabbed Shizuo's wrists as a sad smile crossed his face. "Are you doing okay? What are you on to get legs? You're not hurting, are you? Well, I guess you are. I kicked you pretty hard, heh. But you're legs—"

"No, stop stop stop! Stop talking for a second!"

Roppi cocked a brow. "What?"

"Look, Miss—um, Mister, I don't know who you are. I just—I don't know why I hugged you. I'm sorry, but you've got me confused with someone else."

Roppi's eyes stretched wide and a look of horror crossed his face. "Con…"

 ** _'This is going to get bad.'_** Izaya thought.

"I'm um," Shizuo started, "I'm sorr—"

"I'm not confused, you little shit!"

Shizuo's eyes stretched wide.

"How the hell could you have forgotten me?!" Roppi's expression was laced with rage. "You were ten when Nanasaki took you from me! Regardless if you were young, we're smarter than humans! There's no fucking way you wouldn't remember your mother's face even if it's been twelve years!"

"Moth—Miss, you are seriously confused!" Shizuo took his hands off Roppi's shoulders and backed away. "My mother is Heiwajima Namiko!"

"Heiwa…you mean that cunt Nanasaki sold you to?!"

Shizuo's eyes instantly grew wide with rage. "Don't you say such things about my mother!"

"She's not your fucking mother! I'm your mother! Try to remember, goddammit!"

"There's nothing to remember! You're disillusioned!"

"I'm not—"

"Roppi, wait!" Izaya stepped in between the two.

"Izaya?!" Roppi took a step back, looking at the informant with confusion, his eyes sparking with tears that weren't from the resonance.

"Izaya, you bastard!" Shizuo yelled. "You're the one who told her these lies, aren't you?!"

"Believe it or not, Shizu-chan, I'm just as shocked as you are." Izaya looked over his shoulder at Shizuo with an expression of complete disgust. "To think that my current love interest birthed the likes of you…"

"You bastard!" Shizuo reached for him.

"Don't touch him!" Roppi grabbed Izaya and turned the raven around so that Roppi's body blocked any advance Shizuo could attempt on Izaya. "He has nothing to do with this! This is that Heiwajima fucks fault!"

"YOU!"

Shizuo reached forward. Izaya jolted back while Roppi turned to face Shizuo. The fortissimo of violence grabbed Roppi by the chest of his shirt. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything to grab as the jumpsuit had a deep V so Shizuo had to grab the collar that went up to loop on the back of Roppi's neck. In order to get a firm grip, Shizuo had to bring both ends of the collar together, making the collar a choker and holding Roppi by it.

"I'm not sure if you're a man or a woman!" Shizuo yelled. "And it's because I don't know that I'm not sending you fucking flying! But I'm warning you now! If you talk bad of my parents one more time I'm not going to be able to restrain myself!"

"They're not your parents!" Roppi yelled. "I'm your mother and your father was this worthless Puerto Rican fuck that I didn't even bother remembering the name of! The Heiwajima's are the people who bought you off of Nanasaki!"

"I don't know a Nanasaki!"

"You fucking should! After what he did to us—"

"I DON'T KNOW A NANASAKI!"

"FUCKING LISTEN TO ME, YOU FUCK!" Roppi swung his head forward fast.

There was a resounding crunch as Shizuo's head careened back. The blonde's eyes stretched wide as blood gushed from his nose. He let Roppi go in favor of holding his face.

 ** _'This is getting out of hand.'_** Izaya looked around, hoping not to spot any mid-forty men in the group of customers that were watching this interaction.

"I don't know what the Heiwajima's did to you to make you forget me!" Roppi yelled, agony resounding in his face and facial expression. "But I'm telling you, I am who I say I am and you are who I say you are! We resonated! Our species is designed to give bodily reactions if we reunite with someone we're related to after being separated for so long! It's to make sure we don't accidentally inbreed because we haven't seen each other for years! So regardless of what you believe, you and I are related! If the same blood didn't run through our veins you wouldn't have resonated with me! Try to remember! My name is Hachimenroppi! You are Shizuo! Shizuka was my mother's name! I've always named my children after my parents and you're no exception!"

"Roppi, stop." Izaya said as gently as he could, standing in front of Roppi once again and putting his hands up in an attempt to calm him.

"No!" Roppi raised his hands in frustration, swinging them back down to his side. "I will not stop! He's my—"

"I know what he is but if Shizu-chan doesn't remember—"

"He will remember! I'll make him remember!"

"Roppi, that's not how the mind works." Izaya went to grab Roppi's wrists.

"Izaya, no!" Roppi pulled his hands out of Izaya's reach, swinging them down again. "You don't understand!"

"I do." Izaya reached for Roppi's wrists again.

"You don't! How the hell could you understand?! You've never had a child!" Roppi refused him again.

"Roppi, stop."

Izaya grabbed hold of Roppi's wrists. Roppi struggled against him, pulling his wrists out of Izaya's grip. Izaya refused to let up and continued to grab Roppi's wrists just to have the mermaid pull himself free. The two were now talking over each other, as Izaya tried to calm down the distressed mother.

"No!"

"Roppi, stop."

"Izaya, no!

"Stop."

"Stop it!"

"Roppi, we need to go."

"Just let me talk!"

"No, we need to go."

"Let me talk to him!"

"Roppi, come on."

"Let me talk to my son!"

"We need to go."

"No!"

"Roppi."

"No!"

"Calm down."

"No, Izaya!"

"Calm, Roppi."

"You don't understand!"

"Calm. Calm."

"There's no calm!"

"Roppi!" Izaya grabbed Roppi's wrists hard. He then pushed them against Roppi, pushing the mermaid back, then quickly pulling them forward so Roppi was brought back to him. This was the closest Izaya could get to shaking the iron-footed being. Roppi's eyes stretched wide. "Enough. We need to go."

"N—"

"Shizu-chan doesn't understand what's going on. Before you go blathering anything else out, you need to calm down and think clearly."

"No! How can I think clearly when my own child doesn't remember me?!"

"Roppi—"

"No, you don't understand—Waaah! Put me down! Izaya!"

Izaya had stooped down and wrapped his arms around Roppi's wrists. He raised the mermaid-turned-human's feet off the ground and hugged him close. He hugged Roppi's legs to his stomach so Roppi was now taller than him but able to lean his arms over Izaya's shoulder.

"Dennis, we'll be leaving now." Izaya said. "I'll be back to pay on my tab. Sorry to disturb you."

"Are you sure it's okay to leave like that?" Dennis asked.

"Izaya, put me down! Don't do this!" Roppi grabbed Izaya's coat over his shoulder blades.

Despite his protests, he barely struggled—most-likely scared that if he struggled too hard he'd hurt Izaya.

Izaya glanced around the crowd, many of which had cellphones out and were video-taping the drama. Izaya's eyes narrowed before he turned to the door.

"Izaya, stop!" Roppi yelled, desperation seeping into his voice. "Stop, stop, stop!"

"Roppi, enough." **_'Yodojiri could get notified of this through one of those phones. If he didn't know where you were, he will know now. We have to go.'_**

"No! Shizuo!"

Izaya felt water drip onto his hair. Roppi's voice was now thick with tears.

"Shizuo, please, try to remember! I don't know what the Heiwajima's did to you, but I'm not confused! I'm not disillusioned or anything like that! I am who I say I am! I'm your mother!"

Izaya stepped down into the genkan and attempted to put his shoes on. He struggled to do so with the flailing mother in his arms and there was no way Izaya was going to convince Roppi to put his shoes on. What's more, Izaya had forgotten Roppi's coat on the stool. The informant was reluctant, but he had to put Roppi down if only for a moment.

As soon as Roppi's feet touched the ground, he rushed over to Shizuo.

"Roppi!" Izaya called.

"Shizuo!" Roppi grabbed the chest of Shizuo's shirt, holding onto him tightly. The blond in question had eyes as wide as moons with confusion and a hint of fear. "You can't say that you've forgotten me! You saved my life, don't you remember?! I-I'm prone to birthing twins! You were no exception! I was pregnant with twins and you were born first! There's so many things that our species can do that humans can't! Rapid aging is one! You're sibling tried to come out arm first! The infant became wedged inside me! We were both in danger of dying! And you, you, a newborn infant recognized my distress! Because that's what we can do! You recognized and in order to help, you ate your own umbilical cord! That forced rapid aging; you became six years old within two minutes of being outside of the womb!"

"Roppi, enough!" Izaya yelled.

The informant rushed over, Roppi's boots tied together and draping over his shoulder along with Roppi's red-trimmed coat while Izaya's own shoes were planted over his feet. Izaya pushed himself in between the two and grabbed Roppi again.

"Izaya, no!"

"Enough." Izaya said in a soothing voice.

Izaya grabbed Roppi's wrists and turned the mermaid around. However, Roppi looked over his shoulder to continue staring at Shizuo.

"Shizuo, you saved my life!" Roppi yelled.

"Enough." Izaya ducked down and picked Roppi up no different than he had before. He turned back around to the door. He walked away from Shizuo.

However, that didn't stop Roppi from talking. If anything, that motivated Roppi to speak faster and to paraphrase.

"You made a choice! You could have saved my life or the baby's and you chose mine! You pulled the baby out forcibly! The baby's neck snapped on the way out! But I was alive! I didn't hemorrhage! I lived to tell the tale! You chose my life over your sibling! You made a decision adult's struggled with and you were only 5 minutes old! You can't tell me you've forgotten that!"

Izaya stepped into the genkan and was out the door.

"SHIZUO!"

Izaya turned left. Shizuo did not follow them.

Roppi began to cry without restraint.

"Put me down…Put me down…" Roppi sobbed, holding onto the back of Izaya's coat tightly.

Izaya refused, walking down the sidewalk without pause. He glanced around the crowd again, paranoia beginning to seep into his being. There were several graying men in the crowd. Any of them could be Yodojiri. Any of them could want to know where Roppi the mermaid had disappeared to and here Roppi was making a scene to gain all forms of attention.

Izaya had to get away. He had to get them away. One of his safehouses wasn't that far from here. He could let Roppi rest there until he calmed down. They'd be safe there. It was just four blocks away.

Izaya crossed the road onto the adjacent sidewalk. The cars began to speed by a minute afterwards, thoroughly cutting the informant and his mermaid off from Russian Sushi and the blond that sat inside.

That seemed to register to Roppi, who began to kick just a tad harder.

"Put me down! Let me go! NOW!"

"Roppi!"

"Let me go! Let me go! Now now now now now!"

Izaya struggled to hold on. He was in danger of dropping Roppi, so he put the inhuman down before he let that happen. Once Roppi's socked feet touched ground, the mermaid pushed Izaya away by his shoulder blades. It wasn't hard enough to make Izaya question the durability of his bones, but it did hurt. Roppi took a few steps back.

"Why'd you—what's wrong with you?! You were the one who said you wanted to reunite me with my children! Yet you—"

"Roppi, calm!"

"Give me one fucking reason why I should calm! My son…My son _rejected_ me!"

"Stop." Izaya whispered, putting his hands up once again in a calming gesture. "You're making a scene, Roppi."

Roppi's eyes stretched wide with obvious hurt. But within the same second, they narrowed with unadulterated rage. "Right! Because _THAT'S_ WHAT'S IMPORTANT HERE! NOT MY INNER TURMOIL!"

"That's not what I—" Izaya went to grab Roppi's wrist.

"Stay away from me!" Roppi backed away so he was out of Izaya's reach. "I see it now! You don't care about me! You never cared about me!"

Izaya's eyes stretched wide. "That's not—"

"You lied! From the very beginning! You had no intention of finding my missing children! You just told me what I wanted to hear so I'd agree to live with you! You don't care about me at all!"

"Roppi, stop! That's not it at all!"

"You're a _liar_!"

"Roppi—"

"Stay away from me!"

With that, the distressed mermaid, with tears freely streaking his cheeks and making his eyes bloodshot, turned around and ran away. Izaya's eyes stretched wide before he jolted into action.

"Roppi! Wait!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Roppi, stop!"

Roppi ignored him, weaving through the crowd with ease. Izaya could have followed with just as much ease, if not for…

"Leave the woman alone!"

"What kind of man are you, making a lady cry in public like that?!"

Ignorant men, who just wanted to help Roppi by keeping the 'woman' away from the informant who upset her, stood in Izaya's way. They thoroughly blocked his path.

"Let me through!" Izaya tried to push past them. He barely saw the mermaid's black hair peeking through the crowd. "Roppi, stop! It's not safe! Yodojiri could be anywhere! ROPPI!"

And like that, Roppi was gone, devoured by the crowd that could easily be concealing the man who had stabbed Izaya. True fear gripped Izaya's heart.

"HACHIMENROPPI!"


	21. Chapter 21

Roppi pushed through the crowd without a care. He could barely see where he was going due to the tears that fogged his vision. His chest hurt with an agony he hadn't felt before. Losing ones' child was one thing. To have his children killed or taken from him was a pain he had learned to handle. He would grieve and hold his composure. But to have a child alive, see him, register him but have no memory of him. He didn't understand how that sensation was worse, but it was. It was the worse grief he had ever felt.

And then Izaya had to add insult to injury.

 _"You're making a scene, Roppi."_

 ** _'Well, sorry I can't put up a façade like you can!'_**

Roppi wouldn't blame Izaya. He was a person who was based around his image. And his image had already taken a blow by showing affection to Roppi. There was only so much Izaya would put up with when it came to Roppi's personality.

Roppi wouldn't blame Izaya. But he wouldn't like him. He couldn't like him, at least not right now. His heart had been destroyed. He needed love and care and Izaya couldn't care for him. Maybe Roppi expected too much from a sociopath. He but hoped. He _had_ hoped. Roppi knew he wasn't thinking clearly but he was convinced, at least for the time being, Izaya could never come to love him.

 ** _'Fuck this. I'm going back to the ocean. Izaya can't stop me and I'm not going to play myself anymore.'_**

Roppi ducked into an alleyway. He paused to wipe his eyes on his bare arms. It was a fruitless endeavor since he couldn't stop crying but he did it nonetheless.

 ** _'I need to get back to Shinjuku. Hibiya and Tsukishima…'_**

Roppi's eyes stretched wide with realization as a hot pit of fear gripped his chest.

 ** _'What if they refuse to come with me?'_**

Roppi put his hands over his mouth as hot tears streaked his cheeks with new vigor.

 ** _'Hibiya imprinted on Izaya. He won't want to leave his side. What if he rejects me too? And Tsukishima stays to be with Hibiya. What if they both reject me too?'_**

Roppi fell to his knees. Sobs racked his being, making it hard to breath. He removed his hands to hug himself instead.

 ** _'They could all reject me. All the ones who were taken from me these last twelve years. They could all reject me. That Psyche kid may be eager to see me but when I tell him he's a monster…He'll want nothing to do with me.'_**

Roppi closed his eyes tight shut and clenched his teeth.

 ** _'All of them. All eight of them. They'll all reject me. Shizuo's the only one who was old enough to remember me when he was taken. The rest were infants. It's so much easier to manipulate a baby. They won't believe me. They won't want anything to do with me.'_**

"I'm all alone…"

"Hey!"

Roppi jolted before he looked up at the person who now stood before him.

 ** _'When'd they…'_**

"Nice to see you again."

Izaya was in a state of panic that was unbefitting of him. Losing Roppi was one thing. But it was losing Roppi without a way to find him that had his mind in jumbles. He couldn't track Roppi by his phone because his phone was in his coat pocket, which sat draped over Izaya's arms. Roppi didn't even have shoes on! He was walking around in just thigh high socks and a jumper. He was sure to be freezing and sure to gather attention from any wolf that saw him.

Izaya wasn't scared of any old wolf seeing him though. He was scared of the big bad wolf known as Yodojiri Jinnai. If Izaya knew his enemy as well as he did, he knew he didn't do anything without a reason. Impregnating a mermaid—a monster—was not done lightly. He had to have a goal. More than likely to use the children as soldiers for his plans going ahead. Roppi wasn't necessary. Or maybe he was. Izaya didn't know anything more than Yodojiri being the father of the recent two Roppi birthed. He didn't have any form of picture as to why he would do. He didn't even know why Nanasaki would sell Izaya a pregnant mermaid that more-than-likely was supposed to go to Yodojiri. None of this really made sense.

But that wasn't important. Izaya could figure that out later. What was important was finding Roppi before Yodojiri did.

But what was he to do? He couldn't track Roppi via phone. He didn't bring his Ipad with him, so he couldn't hack into the security camera's around the area. All he really could do was ask strangers on the street but any one of those strangers could be an agent of Yodojiri's. Maybe the Dollars site. But what if Yodojiri was a member of the Dollars? He'd be alerting his enemy that Roppi was separated from him. If he didn't know of the predicament then he would surely know after that. It was too much of a risk.

 ** _'Calm, calm. I need to think clearly. Stop and think.'_**

Izaya sat down on a guardrail, leaning forward and tenting his hands over his mouth to glare at the sidewalk.

 ** _'I just need to think. I could contact Neikawa and Izumii. If I get them on the hunt, the Saika children are sure to find him and Izumii will be able to stand bodyguard till I get there. But wait, Izumii is…No, Izumii doesn't need to meet Roppi. Ever. That man is a walking mass of testosterone. He'd be affected the moment he saw Roppi. Izumii's a no-go. But Neikawa isn't a bad idea—wait, Roppi knows she's a Saika. He might run if he saw her on the street without me with her. Any Saika he sees, he might run from. Shit. Shit!'_**

Izaya brushed both hands through his hair, grabbing a handful in thought.

 ** _'No, calm. Celty. I can get courier-san to—she's watching the babies right now! Shit! Then Mikado—no, he'll blast it on the Dollar's site. Mikage—what the hell can Mikage do? Shiki. I can request a favor from Shiki. Ah, but he'll take Roppi back to the Awakusu-Kai headquarters. All those men have high testosterone, no doubt. Roppi will either be ravished or he'll kill them, in which Roppi will be killed for taking out Awakusu members. Shit, shit, shit, shit! There's no doubt! I have to be the one to find Roppi, but I'll have to go back to Shinjuku to do it! Or get Namie to come here but that'll take 30 minutes either or way. What else can I—'_**

"Izaya?"

The informant jolted and looked up. He was greeted with the familiar sight of a man in a high-neck jacket with a beany upon his head.

"Dotachin…"

"I told you to stop calling me that."

"Dotachin!" Izaya jumped up.

Kadota jolted as Izaya stepped up to him.

"You've been on the Dollar's site recently, right?"

"Um…yes."

"The brunette I've been with the last month or so. Hachimenroppi. Have you seen him?! Today, in the city!"

"Um—"

"We got separated but it's not safe for him to be by himself! He's in danger! Help me out here!"

"Help… _you_?"

"Yes, help me! I—"

Izaya's phone buzzed in his pocket. His eyes stretched wide and he pulled it out. Maybe Roppi got ahold of someone's phone and texted him.

He unlocked his smartphone screen and clicked the message.

 **[Lose something?] [Photo]**

The photo was a picture of Roppi, fast asleep on someone's red couch. Izaya's eyes stretched wide before he looked at the recipient. His eyes immediately narrowed.

"Dotachin, give me a lift somewhere." Izaya said, looking up at the man.

"Eh?"

"I know where Roppi is. I'd appreciate a lift there."

"Um…sure…"

Kadota gestured for Izaya to follow, which the raven did without question. The two headed over to a green van that was pulled to the side of the road.

"Togusa-san, do you mind giving him a lift?"

Togusa eyes Izaya for a moment then shrugged. "I don't mind."

Erika and Walker were casting curious stares at Izaya. The raven couldn't bring himself to notice as he stepped into the car and sat down. Izaya tapped away furiously on his phone.

 **[Don't do anything to him. Don't touch him. Leave him alone.]**

Izaya's leg was shaking, his foot tapping rapidly against the ground.

 ***PING* [That's mean! He's so pretty! You should share!]**

Izaya clenched his teeth and a noise he refused to recognize came from his throat. It was probably a growl, but he refused to acknowledge he could be so animalistic.

 **[Do. Not. Touch.]**

"Hey, Dotachin," Erika whispered to Kadota, pressing herself close to talk in his ear as they drove off. "IzaIza looks very angry. I've never seen him like this."

"Shoosh. We'll talk about it later."

"Hey, Izaya-san," Walker said, "Is it true that Hachimenroppi is really a mermaid?"

"Walker—" Kadota started.

"No fair, Yumachi!" Erika yelled. "I was going to ask but I thought we should be considerate!"

"But it's a _mermaid_!"

"Neh, IzaIza, what does his fin look like? Does it look like a fish, or a shark, or something else entirely?"

"Does he really have shark fangs? Someone posted a picture on the Dollars's site today!"

Walker pulled out his phone and showed Izaya a picture. It was the one Mairu had taken earlier, outside the dojo—Roppi had his shark fangs displayed with a finger in his mouth to stretch his cheek and make them more visible.

"Neh, IzaIza, are you two doing it?"

"Erika-san!"

"No, I'm just curious! I know it's invasive but you two were having such an argument! And Roppi-san said he'd rock your world, so I was curious!"

"Is Hachimenroppi a girl or a boy?! He said he had children in the video!"

"Touch him and I'll kill you." Izaya growled.

Everyone's eyes widened to the biting tone from Izaya. Izaya glared up at Walker with a disdain that no one in the van had ever heard—not even to Shizuo.

"He's mine. So, you don't need to know anything about him."

"Hm?" Walker smiled. "That's a bit possessive, don't you think? I didn't know you could be like that, Izaya-san."

Izaya stared at him for a moment. Then his eyes widened as his words sunk in. Izaya closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Fucking pheromones…"

"Eh?' Erika voiced. "You and Roppi mentioned that in your argument. Does Roppi-san's pheromones have like a succubus effect on you?"

"It's on men in general." Izaya reached his hand up and shook his hair wildly. "His pheromones affect testosterone. The higher the testosterone level, the quicker the affect."

"Eh? Is there an opposite affect for estrogen?"

Izaya shrugged.

"Hey, Orihara," Togusa said. "Where are we going anyway?"

Izaya jolted. "I didn't say?"

"No."

Izaya glowered in distaste. He then let out a heavy sigh. "We need to go to…"

"Hi, Iza-nii!" Mairu said as she opened the door.

"Where is he?" Izaya glowered at her.

"How impolite! We went through the trouble of consoling your lover! You should be thanking us!"

"Where. Is he?"

"Sleeping." Kururi muttered.

"Is he alright?"

"Well, physically." Mairu said. "He didn't seem to have any injuries. The bottom of his socks were a bit torn up. But, emotionally, he's pretty destroyed. He cried himself to sleep."

Izaya's eyes narrowed. He closed the door behind him, then took off his shoes, put Roppi's shoes down in the genkan, and stepping into the hallway.

"Hey, we didn't invite you in—Iza-Nii!"

Izaya walked past Mairu without a care. He knew his parent's house—he once lived here, after all—so he knew where Mairu and Kururi's room was at. He went up the hall and up the stairs, taking the first door on the left. Mairu and Kururi followed closely.

Izaya opened the door quietly. The room was dark with only a dim lamp on in the corner. Roppi was barely illuminated. He was indeed asleep, with a blanket lying over his body. Izaya walked as quietly as he could over to the slumbering beast. He put Roppi's coat down on the coffee table—which had some binders and homework on it—and stepped over. He lifted the blanket to expose Roppi's feet. The girls weren't lying—his socks were torn on the bottom. Izaya would have to get him some new ones. He put the blanket down and knelt in front of Roppi.

Roppi did not look peaceful. His eyes were red and swollen. Izaya didn't doubt the girls when they said he cried himself to sleep. He definitely looked it. Izaya reached a hand forward and touched Roppi's cheek.

The mermaid jolted and inhaled sharply.

"It's okay, it's just me." Izaya said in a soothing tone.

Roppi struggled to open his eyes. They opened a slit. Then closed. Roppi scrunched his eyes then opened them to half-mass. His eyes threatened to droop.

"Iza…" Roppi's voice was heavy with sleep.

"Are you alright?"

When'd…you get here…?"

"Just now."

Roppi reached up and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. He groaned. The mermaid pulled his hands away and glared death at Izaya.

"The fuck do you want?"

Izaya's brows raised in surprise. "Not even fully awake and you're already hostile."

"That's to be expected when the first thing I see is you." Roppi rolled over and sat up, pulling the blanket up to his chest.

Izaya glowered. "Do you realize how much danger you just put yourself in? If Yodojiri had gotten to you while we were separate, I'd have no way of rescuing you."

Roppi's eyes immediately lit with rage. Pure, unadulterated rage that took Izaya by surprise. Roppi pushed himself to his feet. His knees nearly hit Izaya in the face, but the informant backed away as needed to avoid that.

"I'M NOT A FUCKING DAMSEL!" Roppi screamed. "Enough with you and your shit! I can take care of myself! I'm fucking done with you!"

Izaya's eye widened. "What? What do you mean you're done with me?"

"I mean I'm done! I'm sick of this and I'm sick of you!"

Izaya's body moved on his own. He stood upright fast and grabbed Roppi's wrists. Roppi fell back in response, sitting back on the couch.

"You're not thinking clearly." Izaya said. "You need to calm down."

"What? Worried I'll make another scene? You're so full of shit!"

"Roppi—"

"You realize that if you're going to be fucking paranoid about Yodojiri, then there's no fucking point for having gotten me escrima sticks or saying that I need to prove myself! You're never going to let me out on my own! You're never going to let me go! You just want to keep me caged, just like the Puerto Rican and Nanasaki! You thought that if you made it a golden cage, I wouldn't fucking care! But a cage is still a cage!"

"Is that what you really think?"

Roppi's eyes widened. Izaya was so calm; Roppi was expecting a heated argument. But Izaya's expression was solemn, borderline blank.

"Uh…" Roppi started.

"Is that what you really think? Of me? Of our relationship?"

"…I…"

Izaya let out a heavy sigh, an expression of hurt coming across his face. He then made eye contact with Roppi and smiled. "If that's the case, let's go back to Shinjuku—actually, I'll have courier-san bring Hibiya and Tsukishima here."

"Eh? What…are you…?"

Izaya pulled out his phone. "The Yamanote Lines are still running. We can get to Hamamatsucho in 40-ish minutes. Hamamatsucho has the Tokyo Bay, so you can get to the ocean easily from there. Or we can take a bullet train to Matsue or Sapporo or some other port city and be there by tomorrow." Izaya pocketed his phone, before looking up at Roppi. "Would that make you happy?"

Tears streamed Roppi's cheeks. Izaya's eyes widened.

"Wait, why are you crying?"

Roppi clenched his teeth as he began to sob. Pure sorrow flooded his expression. Izaya was at a loss.

"Why are you crying? If you're sick of me, then there's nothing I can really do, right?" Izaya put his hands up to sooth Roppi but he didn't want to touch him. So, his hands just awkwardly sat there, hovering around the mermaid. "We've had this conversation a few times now. If I can't make you happy, and you think I'm just using you, then there's nothing I can really do. We keep hitting this wall, Roppi."

"We hit this wall once! The fuck you mean we keep hitting it?!"

"With me making you upset enough that you want to leave?" Izaya cocked a brow.

"I've only wanted to leave once before!"

"You've been wanting to leave since we met. After all, didn't you say before we started living together that you don't trust me? Even if I came to the conclusion I wanted to start a relationship with you, we can't start anything without a little bit of trust."

"I trust you with my kids, don't I?!"

Izaya glowered at him then let out a heavy sigh. "You just said you were sick with me. Why are you arguing with me about this?"

"You—you're tired of me, aren't you?!"

"What?"

Roppi shook his head vigorously. He tilted his head down as sobs racked his body. "I'm not thinking straight. I don't know anymore, _hic_! You're abandoning me too, _hih!_ I'm too much of a headache _kih, hic_ so it's easier to just get rid of me."

"Roppi, that's not it. You're the one who just said you were sick of me! What are you even—"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Roppi buried his face in his hands. "I don't know. I don't know. _Hic hic hih_! Shizuo rejected me. Nanasaki got rid of me. The Puerto Rican sold me off. Horatio couldn't love me. Now you. You're giving up before I become too much of a problem. I don't know what to do anymore."

"Roppi…"

Izaya reached forward and wrapped his arms around the distraught hermaphrodite. Roppi grabbed the informant's shirt desperately, tilting his head down so he could breath. Izaya could feel the tear droplets hitting his jeans.

"I don't know what to do, Roppi." Izaya said.

However, what Roppi couldn't see was the sick smile that laced Izaya's face.

"Do you want to go back to the ocean or do you want to stay with me?"

Izaya had no intention of taking Roppi back to the ocean.

It was a bluff from the beginning. He had planned for it only to be an ultimatum. If Roppi wanted to go back to the ocean, Izaya had a whole train ride to figure out how to change Roppi's mind.

"I WANT YOU TO FIGHT FOR ME!"

But the mermaid breaking down and crying worked in Izaya's favor. Roppi didn't want to leave Izaya. And Izaya would exploit that.

"D-don't, don't give up on me, _hic_!"

"I want to fight for you. I'm willing to take out Yodojiri, Nanasaki, and anyone else who may come for you. I'll do what I have to to keep you by my side. But I can't fight for you when my opponent _is_ you. Pushy, demanding, clingy. That's not my personality, Roppi. I'm not going to force my emotions onto you."

"I don't w-want…I don't want you to force…onto me, _hic_! I…I just…Would you rather I go back to the ocean?"

"Honestly, no. I want you to stay. But I can't stop you. Less I put you in a golden cage, right?"

Roppi's grip on the informant's shirt tightened.

"I want you to stay but I don't know what to do."

Roppi finally looked up at Izaya. Izaya stared down at him with a knit brow, feigning emotional stress like a breeze.

"Will you abandon me too?" Roppi asked.

"No."

"You'll stay by my side?"

"As best as I can."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"You don't. But this is a good way to start developing trust."

"I trust you."

Izaya cocked a brow.

Roppi rested his head against Izaya's shoulder before chuckling. "Well, no, I don't trust you fully. The notion that you're just using me or experimenting with a monster is a prominent possibility. Once you get bored, you're going to toss me out like Nanasaki did. You say you'll let me go but you actually have no intention of doing so. Even now, you saying you'll take me to the ocean could all just be a bluff. I don't trust anyone and that causes so many problems when trying to start a relationship."

"Best to be hard to trust than trusting everyone you meet."

"…I guess that's true."

"We're both relatively paranoid people."

"…Yeah…"

Izaya kissed the top of Roppi's head. "Look at me. Please?"

Roppi glanced up.

"All the way…"

Roppi pulled his head back and looked up at him. Izaya leaned forward and kissed him. Roppi separated almost immediately.

"I can't breathe." Roppi said. "My nose is stuffed."

"Heh, sorry." Izaya kissed Roppi's forehead. "I'll get you some tissues."

"…Okay."

Izaya stood and turned to the door. He immediately paused when he saw Mairu and Kururi knelt down in front of the door. Mairu was holding her phone out, no doubt taking a video of the whole interaction. Izaya's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Go away." Izaya said to the two.

He walked up to the door and stepped past them.

"Iza-Nii, you're so kind!" Mairu called, following behind him. "Who knew you were a lady killer!"

Izaya allotted to ignoring them as he went down the stairs. The two girls were right behind him. He made an immediate left into the kitchen. Mairu bumped into Izaya's arm, grabbing the raven's arm. The informant glowered at her while Mairu held a conniving smile.

"I saw your smile, Iza-Nii." Mairu said in a voice just above a whisper. "You're a cruel man."

Izaya stared at her, then down at the phone. The camera was still pointed at him, despite being at an upward angle to be 'subtle'.

Izaya chuckled. "I wasn't lying though. I want to make Roppi happy, but you two know I'm quite selfish. If I can keep him by my side and make him happy, everyone wins."

"You don't plan to take him to the ocean, do you?"

"Maybe eventually. Not right now, but sooner or later, maybe. The issue is, Roppi stated himself that his perception of time is warped in the ocean. He could promise to meet someone in a week and one year goes by. By that logic, if I let Roppi go back, I may never see him again. So first and foremost, I need to make certain that returning him to the ocean is my last option."

"So, you'll put him in a golden cage, like he said."

"I'm not that cruel. If I wanted a slave, I could easily buy one, don't you think? I want to love Roppi. Love requires some form of equal ground."

"Eh~~? Iza-nii wants to love a specific someone?"

Izaya eyes widened in realization. "No, that's not what I meant!"

"Iza-nii wants to love Roppi-san! It's confirmed!"

"Shut up! Not so loud!"

"Roppi-san! Roppi-san!" Mairu turned to the door.

"Stop it!" Izaya wrapped his arm around Mairu, keeping her from running off to tell the mermaid. "I'll get you back stage passes to a Hanejima Yuuhei movie if you keep your mouth shut."

"Deal." Mairu smiled up at him.

Izaya glared but said nothing more as he let Mairu go. He then returned to his search for tissues. He found them in the form of paper towels. He grabbed two sheets and turned to the hallway.

"Izaya." Roppi's voice came from the top of the stairs.

Izaya stiffened. **_'He didn't hear that, right?'_**

"Yeah?" Izaya turned the corner.

He saw the mermaid sitting at the top of the stairs.

"I'm sorry."

Izaya cocked a brow as he ascended the steps. "Shouldn't I be the one apologizing?"

"Well, yeah. That would be appreciated. You were being a righteous prick earlier."

"You know my reasoning, though, right?"

"Maybe. But let me talk first."

Izaya gestured for Roppi to go ahead. He stood before the mermaid and held the paper towels out to him.

"Thank you."

Roppi took them and blew his nose into one. He folded it and blew it again. Once he was done, he folded the towels multiple times so the gunk was covered. He then tucked it in the other unsoiled towel and closed his fist around it.

"I just want to apologize." Roppi said. "I…you know how they say a woman gets irrational during their time of the month?"

"Yeah."

"They're not incorrect. It's not that it happens all the time! If you start discrediting my emotions because you think I'm on my period, I'll fucking never talk to you again. I can be emotional off my period too! It's just that…I know myself well. You know that. And I know that I can be really irrational on my period. Like not knowing if I want a mango or an apple. You get me an apple and I start yelling at you because who are you to decide for me? Shit like that tends to happen. It's just built up emotions that boil over when I'm hormonally imbalanced."

"So, what you're saying is, there's a reason you were so distraught but what you yelled at me for may not be the reason, it's just the current issue."

"Kinda, yeah."

"So, I shouldn't discredit your arguments. But keep in mind you may not make the most sense on your period."

"…Yeah. I'm sorry."

"Hm."

Izaya sat down by Roppi.

"I'm sorry too." Izaya said, smiling at the mermaid. "I didn't mean to come off as insensitive. Honestly, I think your pheromones had a part in that but that's still no excuse. You sharing that bit of information put me on edge. You raised the stakes and put an even bigger target on my back. I'm worried about you even more now. If something happens to you, and I'm not there, I'd rather not think of what'll happen to you. I'm sorry for my bad phrasing. I wasn't worried about you making a scene because of my image or anything. I was worried you were gaining attention from the wrong people. Or person."

Izaya rubbed his own side—the side that had his scar from Yodojiri's stab—to get his point across without saying anything with Mairu's camera still on him.

"I'm sorry for being counter-productive and confusing. You need a weapon of self-defense and I have to stop treating you like your helpless. And I'm sorry about Shizuo."

Roppi jolted, looking up at Izaya with a newfound sorrow. He turned his head away and clenched his teeth.

"You're a dick." Roppi said. "I just stopped crying…"

Roppi's closed his eyes as tears streaked his cheeks. Izaya put his arm around the mermaid as Roppi hunkered down. He put one hand over his eye as he fell away into fresh sobs. Izaya's hand came up to entangle in Roppi's hair, holding him close. Izaya couldn't care to be so sentimental. But Roppi needed comfort and Izaya wanted to make Roppi happy. He had to play the role of the caring boyfriend if he was to keep Roppi with him. Izaya decided to ignore the 'love' comment he made earlier, decided this was only to make Roppi content.

That's right, it was the only reason.


	22. Chapter 22

Roppi sat at the kitchen table, holding a cup of water in between his hands. He wasn't drinking it however, just absent-mindedly staring at it. Izaya was standing over the stove. He was in the process of making some soy sauce seared mixed rice. There were carrots, hamburger meat, brown rice, and scrambled eggs mixed with a generous amount of soy sauce for flavor.

Izaya didn't particularly want to make food. He would have rather gone home and eaten there. However, Mairu had offered sanctuary for the night—stating Izaya's parents wouldn't be home till mid-afternoon tomorrow—and Roppi was particularly exhausted. At the very least, he may not make it home without passing out. Izaya didn't mind that, he could carry Roppi home. But Roppi didn't seem motivated to leave. Mairu and Izaya went back and forth for a bit before Izaya agreed—only because Roppi said he wouldn't mind staying.

Izaya then texted Celty, asking the courier to dry Hibiya and Tsukishima off and bring them to his parent's house. Celty responded quickly enough, asking if the two had to be completely dry in order to metamorphose. Izaya let her know she indeed did, in which she responded with a confirmation and a time period of about an hour or two. Izaya thanked her, let her know she would be paid heftily, and put his phone down.

Izaya stirred the hash in the skillet, thoroughly coating everything in the soy sauce. He then took the food off the burner onto the cold stove top and turned the stove off. He put the lid of the skillet on and stepped back. Mairu and Kururi went into the shower five minutes ago. They wanted to shower before they ate. So Izaya could either wait for them or eat without them. Izaya allotted to waiting, that way Hibiya and Tsukishima could eat too.

"Hey, Izaya."

The informant looked over his shoulder at Roppi.

The mermaid glanced up at him. "Cancel that meeting you had set up."

Izaya cocked a brow. "What meeting?"

"The one with that kid that might be mine."

"Psyche?"

"Yeah, him. Cancel it. I don't want to see him."

Izaya cocked a brow. "That's a bit cruel, don't you think? Psyche was very eager to meet you."

"He'll reject me in the end. I have to tell him that he's a monster. I doubt he'll believe me so why even bother? Let him live in his fool's world with his new parents." Roppi's grip tightened on the glass. "He'll forget me eventually too."

The informant stared at him, his eyes narrowing ever so slight. He then turned and walked over, standing before the downcast mermaid. Roppi looked up at him with a cocked brow.

"Do you want comfort?" Izaya asked.

Roppi's brow cocked even further. "Wha…"

Izaya took the glass of water from him. He placed it on one of the chairs. Then he grabbed Roppi's wrist. He tugged him up from his seat.

"Iza…we're in your parent's house."

"And?" Izaya pushed Roppi back against the kitchen table.

"And…it's disrespectful."

"You're not thinking straight, Roppi. You're minds in jumbles. So, you should stop thinking." Izaya's fingers came around the built-in belt of the jumper. He began unfastening it. "That's what I think."

"And the fact that my pheromones are fritzing because of my hysteria makes no never mind to you, right?" Roppi muttered.

"That would explain why I'm determined to do this."

Izaya turned Roppi around so the mermaid's back was facing him. He then pushed Roppi down, forcing him to bend over the table top. Roppi said nothing and put up no resistance.

"Hey," Izaya said, reaching his hand back to rub his jumper up and down the slit between Roppi's legs. Roppi twitched and arched. "If you're against doing it here, why aren't you protesting? You're not really struggling."

Roppi was quiet for a moment. "I'll get splinters if I struggle."

Izaya held back a laugh. "It's a hardwood table, Roppi. You can't get splinters."

Roppi didn't respond. Izaya decided not to question him further as he reached up and unzipped the jumper. Izaya rubbed his hands up Roppi's torso, stopping to rub his fingertips over Roppi's nipples. The jean kept Izaya from making direct contact—which seemed to help Roppi's hypersensitivity immensely. The mermaid arched, his supple ass cheeks rubbing against Izaya's groin, as he stifled a moan.

"Is that too much?" Izaya asked into Roppi's shoulder.

Roppi shook his head.

"So, it's good?"

"…I don't really like my nipples being played with at the best of times…"

"Hm…"

Izaya kissed Roppi's shoulder blade as his hands slunk up to the collar of the jumper. He pulled the collar down, so it slid down his shoulders. The informant couldn't take the jumper off Roppi without the mermaid's assistance. The article of clothing was far too tight and too difficult to just tug down Roppi's arms. The red-eyed raven lifted his hands up to bring his arms out of the collar. Roppi's top half was completely naked, the short jeans hugging his hips tightly.

"This outfit is adorable on you." Izaya breathed in his ear. "But it makes it hard for quickies."

"…Makes it hard to be raped too."

"Hm? Explain." Izaya placed his hand against Roppi's crotch.

"Hm!" Roppi pursed his lips. "It's…pretty self-explanatory. The jeans are really tight around my waist. So much so that you can't take them off unless I assist you. And getting the collar off isn't easy either. I have to work with you to get this off. And since it's jean, it can't be torn easily."

"It can be cut."

"Well, yeah. All fabric can be cut. But with bare hands…And they can't move it to the side to shove it in."

"Can they not?" Izaya reached over and hooked his fingers into the leg hole of the shorts. He pulled it to the side as far as he could, however, the fabric was too tight. He couldn't expose Roppi's opening. "Did you buy this with that purpose in mind?"

"I mean, it caught my attention because it was cute. But after putting it on, I realized the assets."

Izaya kissed Roppi's shoulder blade again. "I love how intelligent you are."

Roppi chuckled softly. "Thank you. But I don't think this context is a compliment to my intelligence."

Izaya chuckled. "Sorry, I can't think of a better word right now."

Roppi let out a breathy, monosyllabic laugh that was barely audible. "Got pussy on the brain?"

"How vulgar."

Izaya hooked his fingers into the waistband of Roppi's shorts. He pushed them down. Roppi had to shift his hips to help the tight fabric over his voluptuous ass. At midthigh, the jeans fell down without resistance. The belt buckle clattered against the hardwood. Roppi stepped out of the jeans, hooked his foot in the cloth and lifted his leg. Izaya grabbed the article of clothing and put it on the chair for Roppi.

The informant then unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. He pushed his jeans and boxers down so the jeans sat on his hips and the boxers came down under his scrotums. Izaya spread his legs ever so slight so his jeans would stay around his ass.

Roppi turned around to face Izaya. "It would be easier if you took your pants off."

"No thank you."

"Are you self-conscious about your ass or something?"

"Not self-conscious. Don't get the wrong idea now. I just don't like having my ass exposed to the open."

"Let me guess. Your favorite position is cowgirl, ain't it?"

Izaya didn't answer.

Roppi chuckled. "Your silence speaks a thousand words. Bullseye, huh?"

"You're analyzing me again."

"…Sorry, I can't help it." Roppi looked down. Then smiled slightly as he turned around. "I'm sure you have a nice ass though."

Roppi then reached his hands forward and slid them down into Izaya's underwear. Izaya refused to flinch as those hands came over each of his ass cheeks.

"You have no hair on your ass." Roppi smiled up at him. "Are you clenching or is it just that firm?"

"…Both?"

"Well, stop clenching."

"That's not an easy request."

"People don't grab your ass often, do they?"

"Nope."

"Not even the girls you fuck?"

"Nope."

"How boring."

"There aren't many opportunities for anyone to grab my ass while we're doing such."

"Stop clenching!" Roppi pressed his face to Izaya's chest. "I wanna feel it properly."

Izaya put his hands on Roppi's shoulders and let out a heavy sigh to relax his muscles.

"Thank you." Roppi kissed Izaya's chest. "It's pretty firm. You work with your legs a lot, don't ya?"

"Well, I walk around a lot."

"No, I mean, your exercises are based around your legs. If you were a fighter, you'd be the type to kick and hop around instead of punch and poise through."

Izaya debated telling him that he fought with Shizuo often, and those fights required him to dodge and run a lot else Shizuo would destroy him. But he decided not to. Roppi didn't need to get depressed again. What's more, talking about Shizuo while trying to have sex was making him limp.

"I'll tell you later." Izaya smiled at him, "I think we have more pressing matters."

Izaya moved closer. His half-hard penis pressed against Roppi's pubic area. Roppi inhaled slightly to the sensation. The mermaid leaned back until he was sitting on the kitchen table. He then leaned back on his elbows and spread his legs wide.

Izaya noticed something then. Or more so, a lack of something.

"You don't have a tampon in." The informant noted. "Were you wearing a pad."

"If I was wearing a pad, I'd be a mess down there." Roppi chuckled. "I stopped bleeding."

"I thought you said it would take a few more days before your period ended?"

"Yeah, but when you put in a tampon, it acts like a plug. And if you plug a drain repeatedly, it clogs."

"That is. _So_. Disgusting."

"Sorry. What I mean is, because I was using tampons over the last few days, I stopped bleeding. Whether it's because I'm done or I just wore tampons too often is unknown. We can still fuck without a mess, but there's a possibility you might get discharge on your dick tip."

Izaya paused to think about if he should continue after such a statement. It was a very short thought.

Izaya put himself between those creamy legs. He placed his penis on Roppi's vagina. Roppi laughed at the small slap of skin that sounded. Izaya's cock twitched from Roppi's movement.

"You're making it hard." Izaya said.

Roppi smiled softly at the statement. He then began to shift his hips. It was subtle and not long movements. But it was enough to stimulate Izaya.

The human put his hands on the table on either side of Roppi. Izaya tilted his head down. Roppi titled his head forward and their foreheads touched. The penis grew and grew against Roppi's feminine folds. Roppi's eyes dilated at the sight and he clenched his vagina on reflex. Izaya felt that lovely sensation. His penis grew even more.

Izaya was at his hardest. The informant thrust his hips to rub his male organ against Roppi's female organ. Roppi's breath became heavy at the sensation.

"You can put it in." Roppi said.

"You're not all that wet."

"It's fine. It's wet inside, so when you thrust, it'll spread."

"It'll hurt though."

"I'll be fine. That's nothing new."

Izaya glanced up to make eye contact with him. Roppi adverted his gaze, staring at their lower parts.

 ** _'He's still depressed.'_**

"Alright." Izaya said. He reached down and tilted his penis, so the tip pressed against Roppi's entrance. "I won't be too rough."

"Do what you want, honey."

Izaya did not like that.

But he said nothing as he pushed his hips forward. The tip went in, however that was as far as that went as the shaft friction-burnt against Roppi's dry outer lips.

"Ow." Izaya hissed.

"It hurts for me too."

"Of course it does."

Izaya pulled back and pushed back in. Liquids began to spread with the movement. He got in deeper. Izaya pulled back again and pushed back in. Slowly, Izaya inched his way inside of Roppi while the mermaid slowly became wetter. By the time the raven was completely encased in those heavenly folds, Roppi was thoroughly soaked.

And so.

Goddamn.

Tight.

Izaya was struggling to keep his composure. The amount of force that was hugging his cock was other worldly. Added with Roppi's insides twitching every so often and Roppi clamping down on him—becoming even _tighter!_ —repeatedly, Izaya felt his orgasm already beginning to sneak up on him.

 ** _'Calm, calm, calm.'_**

Izaya didn't move. He was worried he would cum if he thrust even once. So instead, he reached down and rubbed his thumb over Roppi's swollen clitoris.

"UH!" Roppi arched and tilted his head back. "Don—nngh!"

Roppi clamped down on Izaya again. Izaya's breathing became harder. He continued his ministration.

"Don't, Izaya—asshole!" Roppi reached down and grabbed Izaya's hand. "Hypersensitive! It hurts!"

Izaya chuckled. "Sorry."

He removed his hand. Roppi let out a breath of relief before he lied flat on the table, panting a bit harder than he should be.

Izaya bent forward and put his lips over Roppi's. The mermaid kissed him back.

"I'm not going to move." Izaya said. "It's all up to you."

Roppi glowered at him. "This is not the position for me to take the lead, darling."

"You're quite skilled. I'm sure you have it in you."

"I have _you_ in me and this position is impossible for me to move."

"I want to be impressed though." Izaya pouted.

"Can't like this, Izaya. I'm telling you, I literally can't move. If I had something to put my feet on, then I could. But I'm kind of dangling here." Roppi kicked his feet for emphasis.

Izaya groaned slightly. His orgasm had receded ever so slight thanks to their bickering. He was safe. For now. "Alright, alright. Another time then."

Izaya pulled his hips back and thrust.

"Hm!" Roppi closed his eyes and turned his head.

Izaya swallowed at the sight.

The informant rolled his hips slowly, rhythmically. But hard. Roppi jolted with each pump into him, yet the table didn't clatter against the wall. Which was perfect because Izaya didn't want his sisters to hear them from the shower.

Izaya wrapped his arms around Roppi's thighs and lifted his legs. He quickened his pace ever so slight, filling Roppi to the brim then pulling back.

"Are you okay?" Izaya asked. "Does it hurt?"

"It's not that bad. I'm fine."

"You sure? You said this position hurts."

"Just don't lift my legs any closer together."

"…Got it."

Izaya let the mermaid's legs go and leaned down, resting his hand on either side of Roppi. He returned to his previous ministration of thrusting.

"Hoh, fuck." Roppi groaned through clenched teeth. "F-faster, Izaya…"

Izaya didn't want to go faster. He was in danger of cumming if he went faster. But his body demanded he move to completion. It was nearly painful to put off his orgasm any longer.

"Shit…" Izaya tilted his head down and obliged Roppi's request.

He thrust his hips into Roppi's depth without restraint. He went from a slow love-making to wild gesticulation. And honestly, he wasn't complaining. His stomach muscles clenched almost immediately as his skin slapped against Roppi's. The table clacked against the wall with his vigorous thrusting.

Then, Izaya came. He came hard and didn't pull out, filling Roppi with his seed.

Roppi's eyes stretched wide as Izaya finished, the informant letting out a husky breath of relief.

Then the mermaid started chuckling softly.

"Shut up." The informant growled.

"Heh heh, already, Izaya? Is that why you didn't want to move?"

"Shut up."

Roppi laughed quietly. "I didn't even do much."

"I can keep going, don't worry."

"It's going to hurt your balls if you do."

"I can keep going."

Izaya sat up, adjusting himself and Roppi. He pulled out of Roppi and turned the mermaid's legs. The red-eyed raven's waist was twists so that his lower half was sideways.

"Will this position hurt?" Izaya asked.

"Don't know. Honestly never tried it."

Izaya cocked a brow and tilted his head. "You've been around for hundreds of years and you've never done it sideways?"

"Thousands of years. But not really no. Sideways is a position that requires two legs. I don't have any holes in my ass-end when I've got my fin. Also, this position requires consent."

"Not necessarily."

Izaya pushed his cock back in.

"Mm!" Roppi dug his nails into the dining table.

Izaya thrust lethargically. "One could pin your legs down like this and do as they please."

"Only my top leg. They have no control over my bottom no matter how hard they push on the top one. And I can easily twist my bottom leg up to kick your ribs. This position isn't ideal for raping. As for consensual," Roppi propped himself up on his arm so he could make proper eye contact with Izaya. "this position is hard on the waist and not meant for intimacy. This is the position for carnal fucking. Not for quickies or love making. And that's all I've really done thus far."

"Really? Only quickies and love-making?" Izaya quickened his pace slightly.

"Mm!" Roppi lied down flat, closing his eyes as he basked in the sensation of Izaya's cock. "Affairs are only ever quickies. And I've only slept with people I liked so it was always gentle love-making."

"You sound a little disappointed."

Roppi smiled a sick grin. "Oh, honey, I'm a freak when I want to be."

Izaya was not prepared for the sensation to come sneaking up on him. That simple sentence lit a fire of excitement that was so carnal and so sudden, that Izaya could not contain himself. He thrust into Roppi hard, their skin slapping together.

Roppi gasped as a familiar sensation filled his insides.

"Again?" Roppi asked. "You came again?"

Izaya leaned forward heavily and groaned. He drew his hips back, pulling out completely.

"Fucking hell, why are you so sensitive?" Roppi sat up, looking down at Izaya with near annoyance. "You lasted way longer our first time."

"I just came so it's easier for me to reach a second time. And it's your fault."

" _My_ fault?"

"Yes, your fault." Izaya glared up at him playfully. "You were on your period until now. So, we couldn't do it."

"That is totally not my fault. It's a biological phenomenon that no woman can control. When it's their time of the month, it's their time of the month. We don't choose when—"

"You don't need to lecture me on that. I'm fully aware it's not by choice. It was a joke, Roppi."

"Just making sure." Roppi growled. "You would not _believe_ how many men I've met who thought it was a choice of the matter. Or even better, they thought we were pissing blood. That made me laugh then I broke his nose."

"That's not very fair. He was ignorant. No prejudice."

"There's a very thin line between the two and I decide not to acknowledge that line."

"Hm."

Roppi let out a small sigh before he sat up. "Is there anything to clean up with?"

"Oi, wait," Izaya put his hands on either side of the mermaid and leaned in close. "I can keep going."

Roppi cocked a brow. "You came twice now. There's no way your dick can stay up."

"Don't underestimate me."

Roppi looked down at him. Then chuckled. "You don't have the stamina of a god, honey. Three times is impossible for a human."

Izaya's eyes narrowed at the statement. Roppi may have just been stating a fact and Izaya shouldn't take it to heart. Or, Roppi was challenging Izaya and prodding at his humanity.

"Roll over." Izaya commanded.

Roppi chuckled. "You're being stubborn."

"Roll. Over." Izaya said with emphasis.

The informant then pushed on Roppi's shoulders. The mermaid chuckled but obliged, turning his back on Izaya and leaning his elbows against the dining table.

"You know, Izaya," Roppi started, lifting his hand up to his face to rest his chin on his palm—looking particularly bored. Izaya wasn't sure if he was really bored or if he was doing that to annoy him. Probably to annoy him. "You claimed earlier today that you're against public sex. Yet we're fucking on your parent's dining room table. On top of being public, it's also a little fucked up. What if your sisters see?"

Izaya rubbed his cock up the seam of Roppi's ass, smearing vagina semen and some of his own in between Roppi's ass cheeks. "I'm not necessarily scared if I get caught by my sisters. They practice incest and have peeped on me plenty of times. But I'm worried about some random pervert happening on catching us and worse case scenario's fuel my paranoia. I don't think I could even get hard if we were to have sex in some random alleyway. I need four walls."

"Your sisters are incestive?"

"They are exclusive to Hanejima Yuuhei as far as men go, although they're open-minded to any females. As such, they experimented with each other from a young age."

"Oh—hm!" Roppi arched as Izaya pushed back in. " _Hah_ , fuck, Izaya. Has anyone ever told you your cocks amazing?"

Izaya closed his eyes as his ears burned to the vulgarity. "Nope. No one has."

Izaya's hips touched Roppi's ass, his cock fully sheathed inside of the hermaphrodite. "Such a shame. It's really amazing!"

"Despite being just a human's penis?"

Roppi chuckled before he looked over his shoulder. "You're good at impressing me."

Izaya smirked. He then leaned down and grabbed Roppi's bicep with one hand. With the other, he folded the mermaid's raven locks behind his ear to expose it. Izaya's voice whispered in his ear.

"Now, Roppi, tell me. How much of a freak are you?"

Roppi shuddered and clamped down on Izaya's cock. Izaya grinned as Roppi turned his head and put his hand over his ear.

" _Ha~h_ , dickhead!"

Izaya chuckled. Roppi looked over his shoulder at him. Izaya noticed those red eyes were dilated with lust, with excitement. Izaya just smiled down at him, waiting for Roppi to answer.

"I like it rough." Roppi grinned. "Pin my wrists, pull my hair, choke me out even."

Izaya cocked a brow. "A rape victim likes it rough…"

"Some people handle their trauma in different ways." Roppi leaned up and licked Izaya's lips. "It's like I said. Real rape is shit, but rape roleplay is pretty fun. You gonna kink-shame me, baby?"

Izaya smirked. "Of course not."

Their lips attached to each other's in a kiss. The informant's tongue slinked into Roppi's mouth right before he thrust his hips.

"Hm!" Roppi separated their lips. "Hah, Iza—nn!"

Izaya sat up, propping himself on one arm. The other hand still held Roppi's bicep. With that hand, Izaya put his weight against it and had his arm thoroughly pinned to the hardwood. Roppi couldn't raise his chest from the table.

"I would like to state," Izaya stated, slamming his hips against Roppi's, "I'm not particularly into rough sex."

"Nn! Nn! You," Roppi rested his cheek against the table so he could look up at Izaya. "Vanilla…"

"Mm." Izaya leaned down and kissed Roppi's shoulder. He then said in a low, husky voice. "I'm good at adapting to my partners though."

With that said, Izaya put his free hand on Roppi's shoulder, pinning the mermaid to the table properly, and propelled his hips forward hard.

"Hah!" Roppi arched his back.

Izaya rested on his hands and leaned forward. It gave power to his thrusts, turning all gentleness into a hard pounding. The table clattered against the wall repeatedly. Roppi's voice hitched with each slam—the breath being forced from his lungs. Their skin slapped together. Wet noises added to the cacophony that was their rigorous sex.

"Ah, ah fuck! Ah! Ahn, ahn!"

Izaya let go of Roppi's shoulder and grabbed his ass instead. He pulled the ass cheek up, spreading Roppi's vagina ever so slight.

"Oh, fuck! Izaya! Fuck, fuck! Harder! Hard—"

"Quiet, Roppi. You're getting very loud."

"I'm gonna cum though! I wanna cum!"

"Quiet, Roppi…"

Roppi looked up at Izaya. A wicked grin crossed his lips. "You know, there's a way to _make_ me shut up."

Izaya cocked a brow. He had an idea, but he decided to ask anyway. "How?"

Roppi turned more to look over his shoulder. He grabbed Izaya's hand and pulled it to his neck.

"Grab here and squeeze hard. Then,"

Roppi grabbed Izaya's other hand on his bicep. The raven let go to let the mermaid lead him. He guided Izaya's other hand to Roppi's mouth.

"Put your hand here to keep any other sounds from leaking out."

Izaya felt his stomach knot with excitement and fear. He felt uncomfortable but lustful at the same time. Roppi was asking Izaya to put the mermaid's life in his hand all for primal sex.

"I'm not into choking." Izaya stated.

Disappointment glowed in Roppi's eyes, but his smile remained. He let out a soft chuckle before he brought his arm up to rest his forehead on it.

"Heh, alright." Roppi said. "Well, then, I'm going to need my arm for a—hrk!"

Roppi's eyes stretched wide as Izaya squeezed Roppi's throat with one hand. His airflow was cut just enough to make it hurt to make noises. He could still breathe but attempting to moan made his throat burn. He gasped loudly out of reflex before he tasted Izaya's palm over his mouth.

Roppi reached back and grabbed at Izaya. He gripped the informant's shirt with both hands while he clenched around the member inside of him. Izaya hissed to the sensation but continued to thrust without pause.

Roppi could only breathe through his nose, which berated Izaya's hand and hitched with each thrust. Thrust, thrust, thrust, slap, slap, slap. Izaya assaulted Roppi's vagina over and over. His scrotums slapped against Roppi's swollen clitoris, eliciting so much pleasure within the depths of the hermaphrodite's body. The lightheadedness added to the euphoria.

 ** _'I'm going to cum! Gonna cum! Izaya, harder!'_**

As if hearing Roppi's thoughts, Izaya squeezed Roppi's throat harder, leaning down ever so slight so he could get a tighter grip. He pounded harder, panting heavily. Roppi could feel his breath buffeting his hair. He could barely hear a slight growl to Izaya's breathing. The notion that the composed informant was turning into a carnal man turned Roppi on so much. Everything was turning him on _so much_!

Roppi silently screamed under Izaya's hand as he finally reached completion. His eyes stretched wide, tears tickling Izaya's hand. Every muscle tightened. His whole body shook violently, especially his legs. Izaya gasped hard to Roppi clamping down on his cock. Clamping _so_ hard. Izaya let the mermaid's throat and mouth go in favor of grabbing Roppi's hips. He pulled the raven back onto his cock while he thrust into him as hard as he could. Once, twice, three times, four did the charm as he filled Roppi with his seed for a third time in a row.

Roppi gasped hard, coughing. Saliva drizzled forth from his mouth onto the table, his tears mixing with them. He rested his torso completely against the countertop. He had no strength in his legs to keep himself up.

Izaya was no better. He slowly pulled out. His cock was so sensitive it hurt. The tip was throbbing while a repeated pulsation went down his urethra. He cringed as it slid out of Roppi's body and gasped once it was freed from the tight muscles. A string of white connected their body for a second before Izaya pulled far enough away. The informant panted heavily, his legs shaking. Izaya decided it would be best if he sat down. So, he did. He popped a squat and sat on the linoleum floor.

"Fucking hell…" Izaya said through labored breathes. "That hurt so much."

Roppi didn't respond. He seemed to still be reeling from his orgasm. His legs were shaking noticeably. White drizzled out of Roppi's body in globs, oozing down his inner thighs. They stained into the fabric of his socks and still streamed down, down, down until the clothe soaked it up right above the crease of his knees.

Izaya rested his elbow against his propped-up knee. He chuckled as his head drooped.

"You okay?" The informant asked.

"By…the gods…" Roppi panted. He propped himself up on shaking arms before he allowed himself to fall to his knees. "Last time…I had a fuck that good…it was with a god…"

"Really?" Izaya chuckled breathily. "I'm honored."

Roppi sat on his knees. He looked at Izaya. The two made eye contact.

Then the two started to laugh softly.

"The fuck are we thinking?" Roppi said through chuckles. "We're bad adults."

"I never claimed to be a good one."

"Heh, heh heh, fuck." Roppi tilted his head down. "I'm a damn mess."

Izaya looked around. "Ah, paper towels."

The informant went to stand and immediately lost his strength as his cock rubbed against his boxers. The fabric was, of course, soft, but ejaculating three times in a row made his cock resonate in pain to every sensation. Izaya groaned. The raven had no choice but to roll completely over and do a push up. He kept his legs straight while bringing them under his body. He used his stomach muscles to lift his torso up and bring himself to his feet.

Izaya heard Roppi laughing behind him. "Wow, it's almost like I said cumming three times would hurt."

"Shut u~p!" the informant near whined. "I knew it would."

"But you were determined to get me off?"

The informant slowly walked over to the paper towels across the room. With his back to Roppi, the mermaid looked over to the hallway. He easily spotted the two girls crouching on the floor, Mairu holding her phone out—obviously recording. Roppi smirked at them. The two's eyes widened to being discovered. But Roppi didn't say anything nor did anything to alert Izaya of their presence. Instead, he put his index finger to his lips and silently shooshed them. Mairu nodded the camera. Roppi made a gesture with his head for the two to go away before Izaya found out they were there. They nodded again, and the twins quietly went back up the stairs.

"Would you rather I let you get yourself off?" Izaya asked. He grabbed the paper towel and turned around.

"I wouldn't have minded."

Izaya knelt down in front of him. He pulled a strip of paper towel off for himself then passed it to Roppi.

"I'm pretty sure I mentioned it before," Roppi continued, "but you're one of the first of people who have been able to last long enough to get me off as well. I can take care of myself just fine, so you don't have to try so hard."

"That's depressing." Izaya began milking his penis as gently as he could.

Roppi just shrugged. "When I have a vagina, it's to be expected. Sex is just a means of continuing the species. Men enjoy themselves and women hold still for it. It's just how it is."

Izaya's eyes narrowed to the statement. "That is truly sad. Has that been your line of thinking for thousands of years?"

Roppi tilted his head slightly. "It's not sad when it's true." Roppi then sat back and spread his legs. He began cleaning his feminine folds. "By the way, seems like you didn't get black on your cock and the cum isn't tinged. I think it's safe to say I'm off my period—at least for now. It might start back up tomorrow if it stopped because of the tampon. Although, I would like to point out that you came inside of me three times. We're really playing with fire since your pullout game is shit."

 ** _'Just going to glaze over that last statement?'_** Izaya thought, feeling a little annoyed that Roppi could brush such a depressing notion off as if it was nothing.

"Well," Izaya said, "That's why I use condoms."

"I'm allergic to—"

"I'm fully aware. That's why I haven't been buying any."

"I mean, I don't mind you cumming inside. It's a hassle to clean up but it feels better. But we're not official so if I get pregnant, you'll be the one to suffer for it."

"I'm aware. Can you take the pill?"

Roppi shook his head. "I can't take any form of birth control. It's fights with the testosterone in my system and makes me feel like shit. And I doubt you're willing to get a vasectomy."

"Honestly, I've debated it but the notion of having a doctor take scissors towards my manly parts is quite terrifying."

"Same as to why I haven't gotten my tubes tied."

"We could use spermicide."

Roppi cocked a brow, looking up at him. "What's that?"

"It's a strip you put inside. It makes your vaginal semen more acidic, so it'll eat the sperm."

"Acid? In my vagina?"

"No, it just makes your juices acidic. Like when you eat too much oranges and it makes semen taste acidic? Same concept. It won't damage you."

"You sure?"

"Of course. They wouldn't release something like that if it causes bodily harm."

"People used to drink poison to develop an immunity to it." Roppi glowered at him in skepticism.

Izaya chuckled. "Science has developed a lot since then. Legally, no company or doctor can release a medicine unless we know it can't cause severe bodily harm. There are side effects but usually nothing severe. You can trust it well enough."

Roppi didn't look convinced. "Hm…"

"I'll get some and you can decide to take it or not. But, considering our options, I think spermicide is our only choice."

"Or you could, you know, pull out."

"Easier said than done."

Roppi chuckled. He put his dirty rags into a clean strip of paper towel and crumpled it up. He then rolled his socks down and stripped them off.

"Hm." Roppi said. "By the way, you look like you pissed your loincloth."

"Loin…?"

Izaya looked down to see his underwear—that was tucked under his scrotums—was prominently soaked. His jeans were fine, luckily, but Roppi had soiled Izaya's underwear with his vaginal semen and probably his own cum as well.

"You called it a loincloth?" Izaya chuckled.

"Force of habit."

Roppi leaned over and pulled his jumper off of the chair. The belt clattered against the ground. He shook it out.

There was a knock on the door. The two jolted like teenagers whose parents came home early. Izaya felt his heart skip a beat before he realized there was nothing to fear. And to fear was stupid of the fully grown adult.

"That's Celty." Izaya said.

Roppi rushed to get his jumper on. He got it on quickly enough then zipped it up. At the same time, Izaya gently tucked his cock back into his soaked underwear. It felt extremely uncomfortable.

It must have shown on his face as Roppi chuckled.

"Is your wallet in your coat upstairs?" The red raven asked.

Izaya cocked a brow. "Yeah."

"I'll pay Celty. You go get changed out of those."

Izaya hesitated for a whopping 2 seconds. "Okay."


	23. Chapter 23

"Thank you for your services, Celty-san." Izaya said, handing her an envelope of money. "I hope the boys weren't too troublesome for you."

Celty shook her helmet. She pulled out her PDA and began to type.

 **[They were fine. Hibiya started misbehaving but Shinra was able to calm him down. He was upset you guys were gone for so long.]**

"Ah, he really is spoiled, isn't he?" Izaya chuckled.

 **[Hey, is Roppi okay?]**

Izaya tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

 **[A video was posted on the dollars site today. Have you seen it?** ]

"I haven't been on today, no."

Celty 'stared' at him for a moment. Then typed out, **[Is Roppi really Shizuo's mother?]**

Izaya looked like he did not want to answer that. "…It would seem so."

 **[He looked very distraught when he took Tsukishima and Hibiya. And I noticed his eyes are red.]**

"Well…his eyes are always red."

 **[No, I mean, they're bloodshot. And the bottom of his eyes are swollen. It looks like he's been crying a lot.]**

"…He has. He's upset. I would suggest not mentioning Shizuo for now. The wounds still fresh so I'm not sure how he'll handle it."

Celty nodded and put her PDA away. She waved good-bye and took her leave.

Izaya closed the door behind her. He turned and went to the dining room. Roppi was sitting with his children. Tsukishima was in Hachimenroppi's lap, holding a fork awkwardly as he put food in his mouth. Hibiya was sitting on Kururi's lap while Mairu was feeding him.

"You two are spoiling him even more than I do." Izaya said. "Why are you allowing that, Roppi-kun?"

Roppi shrugged. "He can be spoiled today."

Roppi kissed the back of Tsuki's head.

 ** _'Is he worried Tsuki and Hibiya will abandon him too?'_**

"Well, alright." Izaya pulled up a chair and sat down. He looked at Mairu and Kururi. "Did Mom and Dad change my old bedroom into a storage room?"

"No." Mairu smiled at Izaya. "They turned into a spare room for when we have guests. All the stuff you left behind was put into the closet."

"I didn't leave that much behind, did I?"

"You left a lot of books."

"Oh. Yeah."

"Books?" Roppi looked at him. "Why would you leave books behind?"

"Oh, I read all of them. Quite a few times to the point where I memorized them. Because of that, I didn't feel like bringing them with me."

"That's a waste. You shouldn't leave books behind."

"Do you want them?"

"Why would I want them? I can't bring them with me in the ocean."

Izaya's eyes narrowed. "Well, you're not going to the ocean for quite some time, right?"

Roppi didn't answer. Instead, he buried his mouth into Tsuki's hair.

"…Do you want to go back to the ocean?"

"Are we goin' to the ocean?!" Hibiya looked at Roppi with wide eyes.

Roppi hesitated. "…I—"

"Daddy, you come too!" Hibiya looked at Izaya.

Izaya smiled softly, "Unfortunately, I can't come."

Hibiya jolted. "Why not?!"

"I can't breathe under water. I'll die if I come with."

"WHY?!"

"Hibiya," Roppi growled. "Do no scream again."

Hibiya pouted.

"Hibiya," Izaya smiled at the raven, "see, I'm not a mermaid so I can't breathe under water."

"T'en you should be-come a merm-aid."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't think it's possible."

"It is possible." Roppi said softly.

Izaya eyes widened when he looked at him. "Is it?"

Roppi nodded.

"How would you do that?"

Roppi chuckled. "Like I'm telling you."

Izaya cocked a brow. "Why would you bring it up if you won't tell me?"

"Because I don't know if your immortal crazy. You made a comment earlier today about getting ambrosia. I don't trust that."

"You trust me with your children, but you don't me with the secret of immortality?"

"Course." Roppi's eyes narrowed. "One life in comparison to immortality is reasonable."

"That's bad parenting."

Roppi shrugged. "Immortality is not something just anyone should have. Only those who truly deserve it will get it. Those who want it will never obtain it. And those that have it need to protect it with their life."

"Is that some kind of rule between immortals?"

"…Not necessarily." Roppi glanced to the side. "It's more of an unspoken rule. Everyone who's immortal knows not to offer it out willy nilly."

"Then how would someone who wants it obtain it?"

"I told you, if you want it, you don't deserve it."

"And what if you don't want to die?"

Roppi glared at him. "You have no right to complain. At least you have a place to go when you die."

Izaya's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I _mean_ , whether you live a good life or a bad life, you're still guaranteed an afterlife. Monsters like me, like Celty, even half-breeds like Tsukishima and Hibiya. Once we die, we're gone. There's no afterlife for things like us. Only humans get that luxury."

Izaya went quiet.

"Why's that?" Mairu asked.

"Like I know." Roppi glanced to the side, resting his head on Tsukishima's. "It's just how it is."

"Are you certain that's how it is?" Izaya asked.

"Mm-hm." Roppi nodded. "When I lost Shizuma, I asked Anubis if my son made it safely. He told me Shizuma never arrived. Anubis then went and asked Camazotz to look for him and she explained that only humans get reaped. Since Shizuma had monster blood in his veins, he didn't get reaped."

"What happened to him?"

Roppi shrugged. "She said she couldn't explain. I did a lot of research on it. I had a theory that monster's went to purgatory. But then Anubis explained purgatory was the waiting room for the reincarnated so that couldn't be it."

"Unless all monsters are given a second chance to be born as a human." Izaya's stated.

Roppi's eyes widened. He turned to look at the informant. Izaya tilted his head with a smile.

"Did you ever think of that?"

"…No…"

Izaya chuckled.

"But…if that were the case, they would have met Anubis before arriving."

"Unless there's a backway into purgatory."

Roppi shook his head. "From what I understand, the river styx surrounds the entire underworld*. There's no backway in. There's a spot in Izanami's place where there's a gap in the river styx, but Izanami keeps people from passing through her realm."

"I thought Izanami keeps people in her realm so maybe the monsters are on their way to purgatory and she convinces them to stay."

"I would assume she was a fair individual. If someone entered her realm, I would assume she'd send them to Anubis to be weighed."

"Unless she's a selfish goddess."

Roppi didn't answer. His brows furrowed in sorrow. He buried his face into Tsuki's thick blond hair.

"Mommy?" Tsuki voiced. "It's okay."

The little blond reached up and patted Roppi's black hair.

"It's okay."

Roppi nodded. "Mommy's okay. Don't worry."

"It's okay for mommy to cwy too."

"Now, now. Don't do that, TsuTsu." Roppi kissed the top of Tsuki's hair. "It's no good for a parent to cry in front of their child."

"Why?"

"Because parent's have to be strong for their children."

Tsuki didn't respond. He didn't seem to understand. Roppi seemed content with that as he nuzzled his face into Tsuki's hair.

"Your hair is getting so fluffy." Roppi muttered. "It's really soft, TsuTsu."

"Mommy's haiw is fwuffier."

Roppi just chuckled. He nuzzled Tsuki some more, a sad smile across his expression.

Roppi let out a heavy sigh before he sat up fully. He straightened his back as he cleared his throat.

"So, I'm assuming we're sleeping in your old room then?" Roppi asked, looking at Izaya.

Izaya nodded. "My old bed is a queen, so it should hold all of us."

"Okay."

Izaya stared at Roppi. Particularly, the plate of food that sat by Tsukishima's that has gone untouched.

"Are you going to eat, Roppi?" Izaya asked.

Roppi looked up at him before casting his gaze to the side. "I'm not really hungry."

"You should eat regardless."

"I said I'm not hungry."

Izaya glowered at him. Roppi glowered right back.

"You're setting a bad example for your kids."

Roppi's eyes widened before he openly glared at the informant. "You're a piece of shit."

"Am I wrong though?"

"Fuck you."

Roppi glared down at the untouched food. He then sighed heavily and rested his head against Tsuki's.

"Fine."

Roppi raised Tsuki up, wrapping his arms around the boy. He shimmied over into an adjacent chair and put Tsuki down in the chair he vacated. Tsukishima shifted so he was sitting on his knees. As such, he raised himself up, so he was level with his food.

Roppi picked up a fork and began to eat.

 ** _'How long is he going to be this depressed? Over Shizu-chan, of all people.'_** Izaya glowered at his own food before he started to eat as well. **_'I don't understand it. But then again, I'm not a parent so that's no surprise. Still, he didn't even raise Shizu-chan. He shouldn't be that emotionally attached to him.'_**

Izaya felt a pit of jealousy stew in his chest. The informant would usually try to push that feeling down but he did not enjoy the idea that Roppi had any connection to Shizuo. Roppi was his monster; Shizuo didn't deserve to have anything to do with his hermaphrodite.

And Izaya was content keeping his line of thought just like that so long as Shizuo was brought into question. _No one_ was allowed to see or know Roppi but Izaya.

* * *

 **10:52p.m.**

 **Mai: [Hey guys, I recall some of you guys saying you'd pay to see Izaya having sex! Well, you can see for free. I posted it on Nico Nico Douga. Here's the link: /XXXXXXXX]**


	24. Chapter 24

"Mairu, Kururi, we're home." An older woman called as she walked into the door.

"Welcome back, Mom." Mairu called.

"Welcome (Back)." Kururi muttered.

"Hello!" Hibiya screamed.

The woman and her husband looked at each other before they walked down the hall. The young voice came from the living room, so they made their way there. They stared down at their daughters. They sat in front of the TV, each holding a toddler. One was a blond, the other a brunette. Both were of Asian descent and had strange colored eyes.

The black-haired boy waved at them wildly while the blond bowed slightly.

"What's this?" The man asked. "You two decided to start babysitting?"

"No, we're just doing Iza-nii a favor." Mairu stated.

"Iza-nii. Business. (Iza-nii had business to do)." Kururi muttered.

"Yeah!" Hibiya called, wide-eyed and happy. "Daddy had thing to go do!"

The two parents jolted. "D-daddy?!"

"When did Izaya become a father?" The man yelled.

"Why didn't he tell us?!"

"How old are you two?!"

"At least four, right?"

"Izaya's only 23! He must have had you when he was 19! No 18. Is that why he moved out for university?!"

"Who's the mother? Is it that Mikage girl?! Oh, I always loved her!"

"Holy shit, you guys are loud." A grouchy voice sounded from up the stairs. "I'm glad Izaya didn't take on your chatterbox genes."

The two looked up to see another brunette. This man was as old as Izaya, but far more beautiful. At first glance, he looked like a woman. However, he was definitely a man. Despite wearing a female jumper that was so short and expose all of his milky thighs, the top half of the outfit was draped around his hips to expose flat, male pectorals. His red eyes were prominent against his pale skin and black hair. Those eyes were narrowed into a glare with annoyance and drowsiness.

"…Who are you?" The woman asked.

"Constantine Hachimenroppi."

"Constan…is that Greek?" The man questioned.

The stranger smiled. "I'm impressed you knew that. You're Izaya's parents, right?"

"Yes. I'm Orihara Shiro. This is my wife, Kyoko."

"Hello." The woman bowed.

The man stood before them now. He extended a hand. "Nice to meet you."

Shiro shook the stranger's hand. "I can only assume you must be friends with our son. Are you his business partner or something?"

"…I guess you could say that. I—"

"Mommy!" The little brunette rushed over and latched on the brunette's leg. He looked up while Roppi looked down. "I'm hungry! Feed me!"

"Manner's." The man thwacked the top of the toddler's head.

"…Mommy?" Shiro questioned.

"Yup." Roppi raised the back of his jumper and put it on properly, zipping it up. "I'm a hermaphrodite."

Neither of the adults looked convinced by that.

"If you want to take a tickle downstairs, I don't mind satisfying your curiosity." The 'man' leaned down and picked up his child.

"No, no, no! That's not necessary!"

"Papa," The blond toddler stood from Kururi's lap, waddling over. "I'm hungry too."

"Where's Izaya at?" Roppi held his hand out to his child. He then looked at the parents. "Do you mind if I borrow your kitchen?"

"Oh, no." Kyoko said. "Go ahead."

"Thanks." The blond grabbed Roppi's hand. "This is Hibiya. And this one's Tsukishima. Despite what this one said," Roppi bobbed Hibiya up in emphasis. "Izaya's not the father. Don't worry about that. Izaya and I are…well, it's complicated. Right now, he's providing me financial stability and a roof over my head." Roppi chuckled darkly. "And I didn't even have to put out, so there's a plus."

Kyoko and Shiro were sharing the same thought as the 'mother' turned and went into the kitchen. **_'I'm not sure about him.'_**

"Oh, Hachi-san!" Mairu walked past her parents to follow the hermaphrodite, Kururi right on her heels. "Iza-nii said he'd be back later today. He had business to attend to."

"Did he leave his wallet?"

"He left you some cash, yeah."

"Alright." Roppi turned to look at her.

The teenager handed Roppi a fold of bills. Roppi took it and began counting it.

"He also bought you these." Mairu held up a pair of neon-rainbow striped socks.

Roppi scrutinized the fabric.

"…Okay." Roppi took them. He put Hibiya down and sat down in a chair.

"Mommy, I'm hungry!" Hibiya stomped his foot.

"Do _not_ stomp at me again." Roppi growled, casting his child a glare of warning.

The child huffed but made no other attempt to throw a tantrum.

"We'll go out to eat." Roppi pulled on the sock, the fabric stretching up to his thigh.

"Where goin'?" Hibiya looked confused.

Roppi shrugged along with the 'Idontknow' sound. "Wanna try Mcdonalds?"

"What's tat?"

"Burgers."

"Red meat?" Hibiya rushed forward and put his hands on Roppi's sock-covered thigh. He was wide-eyed and happy once again.

"Yup."

"Yay!" The toddler turned and grabbed Tsukishima's arm. He started tugging the blond. "Red meat, red meat!"

"Nii—stop…" Tsuki swatted at Hibiya's hand.

"Let him go, Hibiya." Roppi growled.

The black-haired toddler groaned in annoyance, but he let go. Roppi pulled on his other sock.

"Um…Miss(?) Hachimen-san." Kyoko started.

Roppi looked up at her.

"As Izaya's mother, I would like to know the extent of your relationship with my son."

Roppi cocked a brow. He then chuckled. "You know, considering Izaya's personality, I was not expecting the responsible parent act."

Kyoko glared at him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean offense by that." Roppi stood. "Honestly, I'm not really sure what our relationship is. I'm not using him, I assure you of that. Izaya…well, he doesn't want me to leave. We're in a relationship, not really sure what kind yet. He's…a difficult person to figure out."

"You don't know the relationship, yet you are staying with him with two children that aren't his?"

"I'm fully aware of how that sounds." Roppi crossed his arms. "If Izaya was my kid, I wouldn't want that kind of thing for him either. But he gets upset when I talk about moving out so for now, I'm going to do what's best for my kids. They don't need to be homeless."

Kyoko nodded, although a solemn expression was on her face.

"You know," Roppi smiled sheepishly. "If you don't mind, would you lot like to come out to lunch with us? You can get to know me better and I would like to know what Izaya was like as a kid."

* * *

"Shitsu-Nii." A brunette smiled at his companion, "Look at that! They made a megalodon model."

"Yes, that is quite impressive." A man with blond hair smiled as well, looking up at the giant shark suspended over their heads. "I wonder if that's the correct size?"

"Fossil records show that they could grow to be that big, typically."

Their eyes widened to the new voice they didn't recognize. The two looked over their shoulder to stare at another brunette. This person wore full black. The only color he had was his pale flesh and tinted fur trimming around the edges of the coat.

"Really?" the pink-eyed brunette voiced. "That's quite impressive."

There was nothing strange about a man they didn't know striking up a conversation in a museum, Sakuraya decided. They obviously shared the same interest, so it was just a friendly small talk.

The stranger chuckled. "Yes, it is. Although, there are some who say that megalodon's still exist. That they roam the uncharted depths of the ocean."

"I believe that is quite ridiculous." Shitsuo stated. "As you stated, fossil records show when megalodon's became officially extinct."

"That is true. However, here's an idea. What if megalodon's figured out they were going to start being hunted by humans, so they went to parts of the ocean humans couldn't follow."

"That would mean that they were smarter than simple animals."

The stranger smiled. "Well, there are many intelligent creatures in the ocean. Octopus's are smart enough to undo locks and escape their aquariums. Squids that catalogue can figure out how to change multiple colors to hide behind pallets of colors. And even mermaids, well," The man looked at the two with that smile that no longer looked innocent, but twisted and cynical, "mermaids know how to disguise themselves as humans to hide in plain sight."

The two stiffened and their eyes stretched.

"That's preposterous." Shitsuo recovered before his companion. "Mermaid's do not exist, sir."

"Well, I think they're very real."

"Then you have fallen into a delusion. They are a creature of mythology."

"Really? Minigawa-san thought they were very real."

The brunette blanched. His shoulders began to shake underneath the thick pink haori he wore. Shitsuo immediately grabbed his arm and tugged the brunette behind him.

"You—"

"Now, let's not make a scene." The stranger said. "I think the last thing you would want is for Minigawa to hear you."

Shitsuo's eyes widened. The pink brunette began to shake noticeably. "Is he here?"

The man grinned. "You have a choice here, Shitsuo. Sakuraya. You can follow me and not make a sound. Or, you can try to run, in which Minigawa will be waiting for you." The man took a step back, hands stuffed in his pocket to display a nonchalant attitude. However, his absolute control over the two was obvious. "What's it going to be?"

The nervousness was obvious as they looked at each other. Sakuraya looked absolutely terrified. Shitsuo had an expression that spoke volumes of how he wished to help but knew he couldn't do anything. Eventually, the blond would sigh and cast a glare at the stranger. "Fine. The balls in your court."

The stranger smiled. "Good."

With that, the man turned around, raising a hand and beckoning them to follow. The two did, rather stiffly.

The two walked to the side of the giant room, where a woman was waiting for them. Said woman was the one who had greeted everyone at the door and welcomed them all in to see the new ocean exhibit. She smiled at the stranger and gestured for him to go ahead into the staff-only area.

 ** _'Who is this man?'_**

The three went down the hall. They went to the first door on the right and entered. The man held the door for the two. They stepped in reluctantly. He closed the door behind them.

"Now then." The man grinned. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Orihara Izaya. I'm an informant, hired to look for you two."

The 'informant' sat down on the couch.

"So, what?" Shitsuo glared at him. "I'm not letting Sakuraya go back to Minigawa."

"Oh, don't worry, Minigawa doesn't know you're here."

The two jolted.

"You lied?!" Sakuraya yelled.

"Of course. How else would I get you to comply?"

"That's not funny, you bastard!"

"Sakuraya." Shitsuo reached out, making a calming gesture at him.

"No! That was cruel! That was—"

"Shoosh, shoosh, brother." Shitsuo patted Sakuraya's shoulder. "He is not here. Take solace in that for now."

Sakuraya was holding back tears, his fists clenching so tight that his knuckles were turning white.

Shitsuo looked over his shoulder at Izaya. "If Minigawa is not here, then what do you wish from us? Shall you be giving us over?"

"Oh, no. Minigawa is no concern of mine. I was hired by another to find you two."

"…Who?"

Izaya grinned. He then pulled his phone out. "You know, Sakuraya-san. You look exactly like your mother. It's almost creepy."

Their eyes widened.

"M-mother…?" Sakuraya voiced.

Izaya tossed the phone onto the coffee table. The two hesitantly, tentively stepped over. Shitsuo reached down and grabbed the phone. On the device was a picture of a brunette Asian. His hair was longer than Sakuraya's by a significant length and his eyes were a piercing blood red. But the facial structure was undeniably the same as Sakuraya's. He wore a very feminine jumpsuit, with shorts and deep cleavage. He also wore thigh high black and blue socks and black combat boots. His coat matched Izaya's but the fur was red instead of tinted.

"This is…our mother…" Shitsuo said, sounding more like he was stating a fact than asking a question.

"He looks exactly like me…" Sakuraya said.

Izaya chuckled. "I find it funny that you are not questioning his gender."

"Well…we're hermaphroditic so…we can only assume we got it from our mother."

"That's right. All mermaids are hermaphrodites, apparently."

"…I see…"

Izaya smiled. "His name's Hachimenroppi. He asked me to find the all the children that were stolen from him."

"All?" Shitsuo finally looked up at Izaya. "Then we were not the only ones?"

"No. I don't know how many there are total, but there is one other I know of besides you two. And Hachimenroppi currently has two toddlers with him now."

"Really?" Sakuraya looked at him wide-eyed. "That's…so many."

"This is over the span of twelve years. In comparison, that's very little since you and the two he currently has are twins."

"…Do twins…run in the family?"

Izaya smiled. "I don't know. I haven't asked."

Sakuraya cast his gaze to the ground.

"Are you worried about your own future?"

Sakuraya jolted. "Eh?"

"Minigawa explained how you were feeling 'sick' before you ran away. He didn't understand why you were having the symptoms." Izaya tilted his head before he grinned. "But I do."

Sakuraya clenched his teeth hard, his whole form shaking. Then he started to cry.

"If you know of the symptoms then hold your tongue!" Shitsuo yelled.

He turned around quickly and grabbed Sakuraya's arms.

"Sakuraya, pay him no heed."

The blond guided Sakuraya to sit down in a chair. He knelt before the yukata-wearing Asian and gripped his hands in comfort.

"I don't know what Minigawa did to you." Izaya said. "From your response, I can only assume it was not a consensual relatio—"

"Hold your tongue!" Shitsuo looked over his shoulder to glare at him. "Do not open your filthy mouth again!"

"He's not…" Sakuraya started. "He's not…being filthy, brother."

"Sakuraya…" Shitsuo looked back at him.

"Understand, you two." Izaya stated, "I have no intention of hurting you. So long as you're with me, you'll be safe. I'll happily provide you with shelter, food, money and medical attention—if medical attention is needed. So, if you _are_ what I think you are, I would need to know."

"Need to know—we know you not!" Shitsuo yelled. "How are we aware that you are not leading us into a ruse? You get us to comply calmly then hand us over to Minigawa? How do we know whether that person in the photo is truly our mother?"

"You know it is."

Shitsuo clenched his teeth. He couldn't argue with that. A part of him, deep down inside his very instincts, knew that person was the one who birthed him.

"How do we know that this woman is not in a similar situation we were? That she is not a slave as well?"

Izaya contemplated for a second. "I can prove it."

"How so?"

Izaya held his hand out. "My phone, please?"

Shitsuo glared at him but obliged. He held the smartphone out to the informant.

Izaya went to his contact and clicked Roppi's number. Shitsuo sat on the ground in front of Sakuraya. He put the phone on speaker and held it out. The phone rang. And rang. And rang.

The phone was answered. _"Sup, bitch."_

"Hello, Roppi-san."

 _"You on your way home?"_

"No, not quite yet."

 _"Whatcha need then? I'm kind of busy."_

Izaya cocked a brow. "Busy? Doing what?"

 _"I was having a lovely lunch with your parents actually."_

Izaya's eyes widened and his smile dropped.

 _"They had a lot of things to say. You were_ so~ _cute when you were a wittle baby. Your mom says she'll show me some photos when we get back to the house."_

Izaya's eyes narrowed.

 _"Gotta say, I'm hoping to see some photos of naked baby Izaya. I would hope that your dick isn't the same size now as it was then, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that."_

Izaya closed his eyes as annoyance crossed is features.

 _"…You're very quiet. Are you glaring at the phone?"_

"No."

 _"You totally are."_

"Don't stick around Ikebukuro too long now. The kids will get tired. You remember the passcode to the locks, right?"

 _"Yeah, I remember. Do we have milk at the house?"_

"…I don't know. I haven't looked."

 _"Okay. Is Namie at the house?"_

"Yeah."

 _"Alright. I'll give her a call and see what we need. I'll make dinner tonight? How's spaghetti sound?"_

"Pasta again?"

 _"The hell you bitching about? Not like you Asians don't eat rice every meal."_

"That's racist."

 _"I'm a monster. Racism doesn't count."_

"It still counts."

 _"No, it doesn't! That's like saying all huskies aren't fluffy."_

"That is not the same thing at all."

 _"It is too."_

Izaya just chuckled as he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I was just calling to see if you made it home okay."

 _"Alright. I haven't left Ikebu yet. We're going to head back once we're done eating."_

"Alright. Take a taxi. There should be enough for the fair."

 _"Why would I take a taxi when the trains are a thing?"_

"You want to take Hibiya on a crowded train for thirty minutes?"

 _"…Fucka you. Don't be smart with me."_

Izaya chuckled. "I'll see you in a few hours."

 _"Alright. See you then. I'll have dinner ready when you get back."_

"Sounds good. Good-bye."

 _"Bye."_

Roppi hung up. Izaya turned the screen off and pocketed the phone. He looked back at the two with a gentle smile.

"So?" Izaya asked. "Is that the attitude of a slave?"

Neither responded. A part of them knew that was the voice of their mother. They couldn't argue that he had called someone unrelated to the person in the photo because their instincts said as such.

Izaya leaned forward. "I assure you, my intentions are honest, even if my first impression wasn't."

Shitsuo did not look convinced. However, Sakuraya nodded.

"So, then, I wish for you to come with me. My goal is to provide this mother the children that were stolen from her. I—"

"What's in it for you?" Shitsuo interrupted. "What is your relationship with our mother?"

Izaya paused to think. "…Well, he's currently living with me."

"Why though? Are you two dating?"

"…That's…a little complicated."

Sakuraya chuckled. "You are far more honest speaking of Hachimenroppi then you were speaking to us."

Izaya glowered.

"It is cute. Truly."

"…Mm-hm…"

Sakuraya giggled. He then reached up and wiped the tear from his eyes. "It is sweet. And I mean it as a compliment."

"…I'll take it as one…"

A silence befell them as Sakuraya just smiled warmly at Izaya.

"Well," Izaya started, clearing his throat. "So, yes. My goal is to reunite Roppi with his children. I am certain you two are his and I'm sure you know it as well."

Sakuraya and Shitsuo nodded.

"As I stated, I will provide you with shelter, food, any amount of money you may need, and medical attention if it is required. I will also provide you with painkillers, so you can keep your legs, or I can get you tanks to rest in. I can't guarantee they'll be very big as of right now, but eventually, I will have one as big as a warehouse ready."

"You know about the painkillers?"

"I don't know what morphine does for your kind, but I know that all forms of painkillers give mermaids legs."

"We…" Sakuraya started. "Don't really know the extent of what can and can't be done. We've only ever had aspirin and morphine. Aspirin, it's different than morphine. At least the effects. Aspirin lasted two weeks and our legs were in constant pain, what's more we…remained female the entire time. On morphine, we are still female, however, the stabbing sensation in our legs passed by the next day and we're still under its effect."

"It's been nearly two months since you ran away."

"We're aware."

"There was one more thing," Shitsuo said, "Sakuraya lost his sense of taste and I lost my sense of touch."

"Just pain or touch in general?"

"Touch in general. I cannot feel the clothes I am wearing or the carpet under my fingertips."

"Hm."

 ** _'So, is Shizu-chan an odd-ball case?'_**

"That seems normal. Roppi was taking hydrocodone and he lost his ability to talk because of it."

"Like the little mermaid."

Izaya chuckled. "The irony is not lost on me."

The three shared a light chuckle.

"He took aspirin and it gave his speech back. He said crossing medications like that will made the medicine wear off faster. So, you losing your senses isn't unnatural."

"Ah, so if I take aspirin," Sakuraya jolted, "I shall be able to taste again?"

"Yes, more than likely."

Sakuraya smiled.

"Sakuraya-san." Izaya started, "I have a friend who is a doctor. He is aware of what species Roppi is and is professional about it. He also has the means to do ultrasounds."

The pink raven's smile dropped as he stiffened.

"As well as abortions. I don't know how far along you may be, but we don't need to worry about the legalities. My friend will do it regardless of how far the fetus is developed."

Sakuraya swallowed. "N-no. I…"

"Sakuraya, that may not be a bad decision." Shitsuo stated.

"N-no, we can't! The baby is farther along than three months! It—you can hear the heartbeat. We can't…"

 ** _'So, their hearing is that good.'_** Izaya took note of that.

"Sakuraya," Shitsuo tried again.

"We can't, Shitsuo."

"The child is doomed for a life it will loath to live."

"But, it is still a life! We-we won't know—"

"Either the child is Minigawa's and you will hate the child, or it is mine and shall be inbred. Either or existence is not ideal."

"That's why I shall not take a paternity test! We discussed this already!"

"Oh?" Izaya cocked a brow.

The two looked at him. Sakuraya's brows furrowed in sorrow. He then swallowed hard and chuckled. "If you are to be our benefactor, then I assume you have the right to know."

Izaya waited patiently. Sakuraya was shaking yet again, biting his bottom lips.

"I…I…"

"I shall explain." Shitsuo cut in. "It is alright, Sakuraya."

Sakuraya looked like he wanted to argue. But in the end, he didn't. Instead he nodded.

Shitsuo turned to face Izaya. "I will spare you the gory details. But what you need to know is Minigawa is a treacherous, perverted man. We trusted him. He raised us like his sons but once we became of age, everything went out the window. Especially for Sakuraya, who is far smaller and more feminine than I. Minigawa became obsessed with him. Began speaking as if they were madly in love with each other. He disillusioned himself into believe a sexual relationship was what Sakuraya wanted.

"Things changed so drastically. His punishments became inhumane. If I spoke against him and his behavior towards Sakuraya, he would put me in the hot box. When Sakuraya began displaying his disdain, he would apply sedatives to the pool water and have his way with him. It was…" Shitsuo shook his head. "It was disgusting. And barbaric."

Izaya said nothing. Just nodded.

"Two weeks before we ran away, Sakuraya had fell into a depression. It was unintelligent and questionable behavior from both of us. However, we both feared Sakuraya would become pregnant. He had…already miscarried once before. About eight months ago. What if the next time, he were to truly be pregnant? We feared the worse. And that fear…drove us to make sure the possibility it was Minigawa's obscure."

"We know!" Sakuraya started sobbing. He gripped the yukata over his knees tightly as tears freely streaked his cheeks. "We know it was wrong. We know we shouldn't have done such a thing! But I-I…I couldn't live with myself if the baby was Minigawa's. I just couldn't stomach the idea…"

Sakuraya fell away into sobs. He buried his face in his hands as his shoulder jolted with his cries. Shitsuo quickly wrapped his arms around his brother. Sakuraya hugged the blond tightly.

 ** _'…Seeing Shizu-chan's face make that kind of sorrowful expression. That's interesting.'_**

"My condolences." Izaya said. "If you wish to keep the baby, I won't try to change your mind. That is completely up to you. Just know, the option to abort is there, regardless of how far along you are."

Neither of them answered. Sakuraya breathed in deeply to try and control himself while Shitsuo stroked the brunette's hair.

 ** _'Convincing them was a lot easier than I thought it would be. They're completely desperate.'_**

Izaya leaned back. He said nothing. He decided to keep quiet and let them recuperate. He wouldn't explain to them that Izaya had no intention to introduce them to Hachimenroppi. Roppi said he didn't want to meet his estranged children and Izaya would respect his wishes. Not because he was being generous towards the mermaid's feelings. But because Izaya didn't know how Roppi would respond to this surprise visit—and blatant violation of his request. Roppi may reject these children, who did not need that right now.

But Izaya wasn't going to explain that. He had plans for them. He just had to set his ducks in a row. For now, he could be quiet and let them grieve.

* * *

"Um…Orihara-san, where are we going?" Sakuraya asked, beginning to look nervous as they entered a very expensive hotel.

"You two will be staying here until I can introduce you to Roppi-san." Izaya swiped his keycard. The door beeped, and the raven opened it.

Shitsuo and Sakuraya were very hesitant to enter. They did, regardless.

"You two will have full access to room service and anything else you could want. It's just a simple call away. Everything will be billed to my account so don't worry about the prices. I've left a laptop for you. You can buy clothes and anything else you may need, and have it delivered to this address. The address for this hotel is on the bar counter, the first page of the flip book there." Izaya pointed.

"Wait," Shitsuo said, "Why are we waiting? Can't we just go see him now?"

Izaya shook his head and pulled out his phone. "Roppi had a very stressful day yesterday. And has since decided he doesn't want to see any of his estranged children."

"Wha—?!" Sakuraya jolted.

"You lied to us?" Shitsuo yelled.

"I wouldn't call it a lie. I merely didn't tell you everything." Izaya scrolled through his phone. "Roppi did want me to find his children. However, this happened and he's since changed his mind."

Izaya held the phone out to them. On the screen was a video. Shitsuo glared at it but took the device and looked at it. The two mermaids shared a look before the blond pressed play.

The video of Roppi's altercation with Shizuo played loud and clear. The video was only a little over 4 minutes long, but the point got across loud and clear. Sakuraya's eyes stretched wide in horror as tears dotted his eyes. Shitsuo hands clenched into fists. His grip tightened on the phone and Izaya became worried he was going to crush it. He had a look akin to rage.

The video ended.

"He was quite hysterical." Izaya took his phone back, happy to see there were no cracks. "Once I got him to calm down, he told me he didn't want me to look for his children anymore. He's scared you will all reject him like Shizu-chan did."

"But we won't!" Sakuraya screamed.

"He doesn't believe that." Izaya pocketed his phone. "He's much calmer now, as you heard from the phone call. I'll broach the subject with him today. Here."

Izaya reached into his pocket and produced a black smart phone. Shitsuo glowered at it with suspicion but took it.

"My number is the only contact in there. I will call you if there's any change with Roppi's decision. If you need anything, call me, no matter the time—well, not at three in the morning or anything like that unless it's an absolute emergency."

"…What would warren an emergency?" Sakuraya sounded defeated.

Izaya smiled softly, feigning compassion. "If Minigawa finds you, call me. I doubt he'd book this hotel for any reason but if it happens, call me and call security. They'll escort him away if I say so. And if you have any complication with the baby, call me."

They nodded, although both looked downcast.

"Don't give up just yet. Roppi will come around. It'll just take some persuading and convincing on my part."

They both looked up at him.

"You two should be safe here. The bathtub is big enough to accommodate your transformation's. At least yours." He looked at Sakuraya. Then at Shitsuo. "You're a lot taller than Roppi-san so I don't know if you'll fit."

"It'll be fine either or way." Shitsuo stated.

Izaya nodded. "There is morphine in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. I don't know how long your transformation will last. On hydrocodone, Roppi will be under the effects for three months. Since morphine is weaker than hydro's, I can only assume you two are bound to transform back soon. Don't worry, the walls are very thick here. I don't know if the transformation is painful but if it is, you won't alert the other suites."

The two nodded.

"Now, you two may not believe me but I _will_ do my best to convince Roppi to see you. In my opinion, it would also benefit Roppi if he meets his stolen children. So, I may have lied to you, but it was all in Roppi's benefits." Izaya smiled at them with confidence. "You don't have to trust me. Just know Roppi is my priority. And as such, I want him to be happy. Wallowing in his own pessimistic delusions isn't going to get him anywhere."

Shitsuo glared at him before he threw his gaze to the ground.

 ** _'He's far more sheepish than Shizuo.'_**

"I'm…telling you now, Orihara-san." Shitsuo said, "I don't trust you. Not in the slightest. However, I believe in your love for my mother. So, for now, we will move by your pace."

Izaya smiled. Annoyance stabbed into his heart almost painfully, but he refused to show it.

 ** _'Is my affection for Roppi that obvious?'_**

"I'm glad."

 ** _'Don't tell me it's that obvious.'_**

"Well, I have to go home now." Izaya pulled out his phone. "Again, if you need anything call. If it's an emergency, call at any time."

"Alright."

"Th-thank you…Orihara-san." Sakuraya stated.

 ** _'If two people I've just met can see it so plainly…'_**

"Your welcome."

Izaya waved good-bye and turned to the door.

 ** _'Then my enemies will be able to see it as well.'_**

Izaya left the hotel room behind. In the hallway, his smile faded into a glower down at the carpet.

 ** _'People will think I'm going soft. And if that happens, my reputation will be put into question. I'll lose respect from some very dangerous people.'_**

Izaya clicked the elevator button. He then let out a heavy sigh.

"I'm painting _such_ a target on my back, aren't I?"


	25. Chapter 25

Roppi let out an exasperated groan as he splayed over a park bench. Hibiya and Tsukishima sat on either side of him, nomming on beef takoyaki. The two kids had eaten plenty for lunch but being creatures with high metabolisms, it was no surprise they were hungry once again. Roppi would make a big dinner when he got home. For now, they could snack on some stuffed battered balls.

Roppi stared up at the sky. He glowered at the sight. The blue sky, the domain of Zeus that was supposed to main untouched by man, was almost a muggy grey despite the sun shining bright. Pollution and reflection off the giant buildings was dampening the beautiful sight that was the sky.

 ** _'Zeus must be pissed. Is that why it rains so often even though it's summer? Wouldn't be surprised.'_**

Roppi tilted his head down to stare at his ground between his spread boots.

 ** _'I wonder how the gods are doing? How is Anubis doing? Last I talked to him, he had fallen into quite a depression.'_** Roppi glowered. **_'I hope the Egyptians are treating him better. He should really dump those stick-up-their-asses fucks and go to the Greeks. At least Poseidon will treat him better than Ra ever did.'_**

Roppi scoffed and rolled his head to rest on his bicep.

 ** _'Doubt Ra would agree to that. He's an_** Egyptian **_after all, so of course he has to take responsibility even if he doesn't want to. Fucking golden dickcheese.'_**

"What are you 'inkin about, papa?" Tsukishima looked up at Roppi with his wide eyes.

Roppi chuckled and bent his elbow. His twiddle with a lock of Tsuki's blond hair. "Nothing, darling. You guys done eating?"

Roppi looked down at their takoyaki boxes. Hibiya had only eaten three, Tsuki had two out of their separate boxes of 8 each.

"Hm. Well hurry up and eat. You can't eat those in the cab."

Roppi phone buzzed in his pocket. He looked down in question to what that noise was before he registered it was his cellular device. He reached into his pocket. Izaya was calling. He hit the green button and put it to his ear.

"Sup, bitch?"

 _"Hey, have you left Ikebukuro yet?"_

"No, not yet. I got the kids some snacks. Once their done I was going to take a cab."

 _"You want to just eat dinner in Ikebukuro?"_

Roppi cocked a brow. "But I said I was going to make dinner."

 _"I know but that was about three hours ago. I'll be going through Ikebukuro to get home. So, I figured, if you're still there, we could just get dinner out."_

"What, you don't like my cooking?"

Izaya chuckled. _"That's not it, of course. It's actually quite nice eating home-cooked meals. But I'm used to eating in restaurants. It's much easier than cooking."_

"Ten bucks says you don't even know how to cook and that's why you always buy take out."

 _"I have more class than that. I never bought take out. Five-star restaurants only."_

"I don't think that sushi place was a five-star establishment."

Izaya just chuckled dryly. _"Do you want to go out for dinner or not?"_

"No need to get annoyed."

Roppi heard Izaya grumble. He most-likely didn't want Roppi to hear since it sounded farther away than it should. Roppi decided not to bring it into question.

"I don't mind going out to dinner." Roppi said. "How long till you get to Ikebu?"

 _"I'm right outside the city. Where are you at?"_

"We're in the park. By some jet fountain things. You know what I'm talking about? They shoot up out of holes in the ground."

 _"Yeah, I know. I know where you're at. I should be there in another 15 to 20 minutes."_

"Okay. You want us to meet you halfway?"

 _"No, I'll just meet up with you at the park. Let the kids finish their snacks. Are they going to be able to eat dinner?"_

"Oh, yeah. They'll eat. If not, we can get it to go."

 _"True."_

"Don't worry about the kids. I could definitely eat."

 _"Alright. Just so you know, we have some business to discuss."_

Roppi cocked a brow in suspicion. "…What kind of business?"

 _"It's about your lost children."_

Roppi's eyes narrowed. "I told you, I don't want you to find anymore of my children."

 _"I know. But now that you've calmed down, I think we should have a proper discussion."_

"I don't need a discussion."

 _"We'll talk about this face to face when I get there."_

Roppi growled, inhuman and low. "There's nothing to discuss."

 _"Humor me."_

"Debatable."

 _"Roppi."_

"Fine, fine, fine. Just don't spoil my appetite."

 _"I'll do my best not to."_

"Fine."

 _"Fine."_

"See you in a bit."

 _"See—"_

Roppi hung up. He let out a heavy sigh as he put the phone in his pocket.

"Papa, why do you not wan' kids to be found?" Tsukishima looked up at him.

Roppi's brows furrowed. But he smiled. "That's a little complicated, darling."

"…Do you want me and Hibi to go away too?"

"No! No, no, no! I don't want any—it's not like that, Tsuki-baby." Roppi put his hands on the four-year-old's cheeks. "I don't want you to go anywhere. That's why I don't want to find the babies who were stolen from me. Because they want to go away. And it hurts Mommy so much to lose them."

"But…won't me and Hibi haf to move out?"

"…Where did you hear something like that?"

"On the TV. When we turln eight-teen we haf to move out."

"…Yes, you… _can_ do that when you turn eighteen. But you don't have to. You can…you can stay with me forever if you wanted."

"I don' wanna stay with Mommy forefor." Hibiya said. "I wanna be an adult with rots of horsies and a big house!"

Roppi chuckled. "That's going to take a lot of hard work, you know."

Hibiya eyes widened. "Really?"

Roppi nodded. "Yes, really. You need money in order to do that."

"But…but Daddy will buy it for me!"

"He could, but will he?"

"YEAH!"

"Don't yell." Roppi glared at the toddler.

Hibiya pouted but said nothing.

"Weww, I wanna stay wit' Papa." Tsukishima said. "I wanna stay wit' Papa forever."

Roppi smiled. "That would make Papa very happy."

Tsuki smiled. The toddler then wiped his mouth and puckered his lips up at Roppi.

"What are you doing?" Roppi asked, chuckled.

"I wanna kiss your fourhead."

Roppi chuckled. "Okay."

Roppi leaned down and let the baby kiss his forehead. Roppi then nuzzled his face in Tsuki's hair and kissed his head.

"You're sweet. You're so sweet, Tsu-Tsu."

Tsuki smiled proudly.

Roppi sighed heavily into his hair. He then leaned back to sit up right.

"So," Roppi started, "Did you guys hear Izaya?"

"Yeah!" Hibiya beamed.

"Uh-huh." Tsuki smiled.

"I rike gowing out to eat!"

"You shouldn't get used to it." Roppi said. "Home cooked meals are healthier."

"Ah, but out food is tastier!"

"But I can't give you blood in a restaurant."

Hibiya stared at him wide-eyed. "But-but you did no do give at wunch!"

"Well, I can't, Hibiya. Humans will become very upset if they see something like that."

"Why?"

"Because humans are scared of blood."

"But why?"

"I don't know why. They just are."

Hibiya pouted.

Then the three perked. A sensation overtook their being. A bittersweet sensation that filled their chests. The feeling was far more profound for Roppi than the babies. The adult felt tears sting his eyes as his chest tightened. They quickly looked over to the right.

A blond bartender stopped along the sidewalk. He was standing next to a dark-skinned man with dread locks and a little girl with black hair was holding his hand. They both looked at him in confusion as tears started to streak his cheeks.

Seeing that man made Roppi's heart hurt for a completely different reason. He quickly looked away as he wiped his eyes. He then stood and grabbed his coat.

"Tsukishima, Hibiya, come on. Let's go."

"Eh? Why?" Hibiya balked loudly.

"We're going to meet Izaya somewhere else." Roppi closed the takoyaki boxes and stacked them on top of each other. "Come on, come on."

"But why?"

"Hibiya, do _not_ argue with me right now." Roppi growled. "We're leaving. Now. Tsu—" Roppi turned to look at his well-behaved blond. But he wasn't there. "Tsu-Tsuki? Tsuki?" Roppi looked around himself wildly.

Roppi looked over at the blond bartender. Attached to Shizuo's leg was the blond four-year-old.

"Hello." Tsuki looked up at Shizuo.

"Um…hello?" Shizuo wiped his eyes quickly.

Roppi noticed for the first time the outfit Tsukishima wore. Roppi hadn't given the clothes much thoughts since it was Izaya who bought them. But now that the toddler stood next to Shizuo, it became painfully obvious that Tsuki was dressed as a bartender. The only difference was the white scarf around his neck. Maybe it was just a coincidence but Roppi knew better. He knew Izaya well enough to know that it wasn't an accident.

 ** _'Izaya knew Shizuo was related to us.'_** Roppi came to the conclusion.

"Tsukishima!" Roppi called. He looked back at the brunette toddler. "Hibiya, stay here!"

Roppi rushed over. He knelt down and grabbed Tsuki's wrists. He turned the toddler around quickly, so they faced each other.

"Do _not_ run off by yourself! Especially not to a stranger!"

Tsuki's eyes stretched wide. "Bu-but he's no stwang—"

"He is! Just…" Roppi glared at the ground. "He's not one of us."

"But he's related."

Roppi wrapped his arms around his child and stood. "Doesn't matter. He's not one of us."

The raven turned and walked off.

"Hey, wait!"

Roppi's bicep was grabbed. As a knee-jerk reaction, Roppi spun around quickly with his knee swung out. His knee collided with Shizuo's hip bone. The blond man gasped before he grabbed his side and held the impact zone. Roppi's eyes widened at his own actions as he hugged his baby tightly.

"Sor…sorry." Roppi said, taking a step back. "Sorry."

Roppi turned around and rushed back over to Hibiya.

"Here, Hibiya, you hold the boxes." Roppi stated.

Roppi's coat hem was grabbed. "How did you make Shizu-Nii cry?"

Roppi glared over his shoulder at the child. "Fuck off."

The child jolted as her eyes stretched wide. But she then clenched her fists and stared up with a newfound determination. "You hurt Shizu-Nii too! I wanna know how you did it!"

Roppi's lip pulled back in a snarl as his shark fangs extended over his human teeth. An inhuman growl echoed in his throat before an even more inhuman hiss sounded. The girl's eyes stretched in surprise then in fear.

"Back off." Roppi growled.

"Akane-chan!" the dread-locked man—who Roppi had seen once before—rushed over. "I think it's best to leave her, um, him? This person alone."

"No, wait!" Shizuo rushed over as well. "I—we need to talk."

"There's nothing to talk about." Roppi growled and knelt down. "Hibiya, come on."

The toddler hugged the boxes of food to his chest while he reached up with the other. Roppi leaned down lower and wrapped his arm around the brunette. Hibiya wrapped his arm around Roppi's neck as well. Roppi sat up properly and turned away.

"Wait, please!" Shizuo put his hand on Roppi's shoulder.

Roppi looked over his shoulder and bore his teeth, a vicious hiss echoing out his mouth. Shizuo's eyes stretched wide in shock. Roppi's mouth popped as his fangs retracted.

"Loo-look," Shizuo started. "I won't waste too much of your time. I—you obviously have gone through a very traumatic experience. And…well, I'm no stranger to monsters so I'm not saying your baby didn't save you like you said. But…but—"

"You think I'm mistaken."

"…Well, yes. I'm…I'm telling you, I was born and raised to the Heiwajima's. I've got birth certificates and everything."

"Course you do. It would be questionable if the Heiwajima's suddenly had a son without papers."

Shizuo glowered. "Listen, I know Izaya way better than you do. I've been dealing with that bastard since high school. He's twisted and enjoys peoples suffering. I wouldn't be surprised if he tricked you or lied to you about who I was."

"Hey, that's my daddy you calling bad names!" Hibiya yelled.

Shizuo's eyes stretched wide in genuine shock. "Daddy?"

"Hibiya, shoosh. I'll handle this." Roppi growled.

With that said, Roppi let out a heavy sigh and put the babies down on the bench. The two sat down. Hibiya glared at Shizuo while Tsukishima stared at him wide-eyed.

"Now, you listen to me, Shizuo." Roppi growled. "You know on an instinctual level that it's not a lie. You are my son and you know you are. You're just in denial."

Shizuo glowered. "I'm not—"

"Our species is _biologically designed_ to recognize those that have the same blood. We resonate with those that share DNA, because it's not _unnatural_ for creatures like us to go centuries without seeing each other. It's so we don't inbreed. Which means, the fact that you resonated with me _means_ we are related. That tight sensation in your chest; a feeling of bittersweet that makes you cry. That's what it means to resonate. On an instinctual level, you _know_ that. But you refuse to acknowledge it. And it's for that reason why I'm not bothering with you anymore."

"But—"

"No. No. No. _No_. Unless you want to listen to reason, then you _will_ leave me alone."

"This is reason!"

"Believe what you want! I don't know what kind of mind control the Heiwajima's did to you, but I'm not willing to deal with you until you're willing to listen!"

"I wasn't mind controlled!"

"Really? Then let me ask you? What's the max weight you can lift?"

"I-I don't know! I never tested it!"

"Is your strength normal in comparison to your friends and family?"

"Well, no…I'm a lot stronger than others."

"Do you have a better sense of smell than others?"

"Well, yes."

"Better hearing?"

"…Yes."

"Why do you think that is?"

"…Shinra said it had to be something about my mind never developing the stopper for inhuman strength saved for adrenaline rush and emergency cases."

Roppi cocked a brow. "You mean when the human brain's limits how much strength they output so they don't destroy their muscles? That 'power' they access during adrenaline rushes?"

"Yeah. That's how Shinra described it."

"And that explains your advances senses?"

"I-I don't know!"

And that _you_ are the special _first_ human who doesn't have a limiter?"

"I…I know it sounds stupid but—"

"Have you never heard of Occam's Razor?"

"What?"

"It's the scientific law of parsimony, in which, 'the simpler solutions are more-likely to be correct than complex ones'."

"Um…"

"So, in _your_ scenario, Shizuo, the simplest answer would be you're a monster rather than an extremely special, one of a kind human, right?"

Shizuo's sunglasses hid his eyes so Roppi wasn't able to figure out what he was thinking.

Roppi scoffed. "You want to be right so bad, Shizuo? Ask the Heiwajima's what really happened. Actually, ask a guy named Nanasaki Yoroshi."

Shizuo cocked a brow. "Who's that?"

Roppi scoffed in disgust.

"Am I interrupting something?" A new voice said.

The group turned to look at none other than Orihara Izaya.

"Daddy!" Hibiya yelled.

The raven stood and put his arms up to the informant. Izaya chuckled before leaning down and grabbing the toddler. Hibiya beamed happily.

"You fucking flea." Shizuo growled in a low voice. "What did you tell this woman?"

"Hm?" Izaya cocked a brow. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb! You fucking tricked her into thinking I'm her son!"

"Okay, first of, Roppi-san likes being referred to as 'he'. Secondly, I didn't convince him of anything. You two resonated. That's nothing I can control."

"Bullshit! What the hell are you guys talking about with this resonate crap?!"

"I'm sure Roppi-san already explained that yesterday."

"You're full of shit! You played on this wom—person's trauma!"

"Oh, _believe me_ , Shizu-chan. Knowing that you came from Roppi has completely destroyed his sex appeal."

Roppi jolted before looking at Izaya with shocked, angry confusion. "Excuse my fucking French, the fuck did you just say, blood bag?"

"It was no insult to you, I assure you, Roppi-san."

"Are you fucking high?"

"No."

"There is no way, shape, or form that's not an insult to me."

"Unfortunately, I can't take that back. The fact that Shizu-chan and I have shared the same vagina in some form or another really ruins my sex drive."

Roppi glared at him. Then he chuckled. He tilted his head down with a soft chuckle. "Okay."

Roppi reached out. He wrapped his arms around Hibiya and took the toddler from Izaya.

"Eh? I've got him, Roppi."

Roppi said nothing. Instead, he stomped his foot hard. Over Izaya's foot. The raven called out and took a knee as he held his injury.

"Well, then," Roppi growled. "If I've lost my sex appeal, then it's no problem if I pay that Samia guy a visit, right?"

Izaya immediately glared up at him. Roppi cocked a brow, a sadistic smile on his face.

"You wanna change your statement really quick then, Iza-chan? Or am I hunky dory to do what I want?"

Izaya glowered. "You could have broken my toes, you know."

"Oh, please, I know how to hold back."

Izaya stood, testing whether it hurt to use his foot or not. Roppi chuckled and leaned in close until his mouth was pressed to Izaya's ear.

"Listen, honey," Roppi whispered. "I don't want to embarrass you in front of others, but you _cannot_ treat me like shit and expect me to like it, especially when I'm already in a bad mood. Swallow your pride for a second and do not humiliate me like that again. Can't defend you if you prove me right, dumb shit."

Roppi backed off enough for the two to make eye contact. Izaya glowered at him with enough hate to kill.

He then let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. I'm _sorry_."

Roppi scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Prove it to me."

"How?"

"Can't say in the earshot of children."

Izaya blushed in response.

Roppi held back a laugh.

"Oi, don't show me such a disgusting sight." Shizuo growled.

Roppi glared over his shoulder at him. "Take your homophobia and shove it."

"I'm not homophobic. Just the thought of the flea doing anything sexual is enough to make me puke."

Roppi stared at him, then at Izaya. "You guys seem to know each other quite well."

"We're natural enemies." Izaya beamed. "This is the first time we've been this close, and he hasn't tried to beat the shit out of me."

"If the kids weren't here, I'd send you flying."

"Touch Izaya and I'll break your hand." Roppi said without hesitation.

Shizuo glared at him with a mixture of shock. "You shouldn't protect this piece of shit! You don't know half the horrible shit he's done!"

"I have a pretty good idea." Roppi stared down at little Akane standing by the dark-skinned man.

"Whatever you think you know, you obviously don't know the full picture."

Roppi looked up at him. "I assure you. I know."

Izaya did not like that. It was evident on his face for less than a second. Shizuo didn't notice as he seemed to only get angrier.

"If you know, then why are you still with him?!"

"What in the FUCK do you CARE?!" Roppi yelled much louder than he should have. Hibiya and Tsukishima flinched. "You're the one who rejected me, so you don't have ANY FUCKING REASON to be sitting here TALKING TO ME!"

Shizuo's eyes stretched wide.

"…Roppi, you shouldn't yell." Izaya put his arms out for Hibiya. "You guys have advanced senses, right? You'll hurt the kids ears."

Roppi didn't respond. He couldn't respond. He was about to cry so he had to keep his mouth shut else he wouldn't keep his composure. Hibiya reached out for Izaya. The informant took the toddler from Roppi. Roppi felt a tug on his shorts. He looked down at Tsukishima, who had tears in his eyes.

Roppi knelt down and picked up his blond child.

"Izaya, I wanna go home…" Roppi said.

"…Okay." Izaya nodded. "Let's go."

Roppi walked past Izaya. The informant watched him go for a moment then turned to Shizuo.

"Well, Shizu-chan, I'll be leaving Ikebukuro. Since I have a kid with me, I hope you won't follow me."

"You've already hurt that woman enough, you creepy bastard."

"Right now, the one who hurt him is you."

Shizuo growled but couldn't say anything.

"You!" Hibiya yelled, glaring at Shizuo. The faux blonde's eyes widened. "You a bad man! You be one of our sibwings but you hurt Mommy! You a bad, bad man!"

Shizuo was stunned into silence. Izaya smiled triumphantly. "Very good, Hibiya. You tell that bad man what's what."

The informant nuzzled Hibiya's cheek as he turned around to follow Roppi. Shizuo didn't pursue. Tom put a hand on Shizuo's shoulder in comfort, since that was all the senpai could do.


	26. Chapter 26

Roppi helped Tsukishima take off his shirt. The toddler got his pants and underwear off by himself just fine, but he couldn't unbutton his waist coat. Roppi did it for him then his white shirt. Hibiya stripped himself without a problem. The brunette's clothes were a lot easier than his brothers. His looked more like a dress with bloomers underneath. Roppi questioned if those clothes were too effeminate, but Hibiya seemed to like them, so he wouldn't complain.

The two babes were completely naked. Roppi picked up Tsukishima and lifted him up. He placed the toddler in the tank of water. Immediately, Tsuki gasped. Scales began to appear along his legs. The flesh of his thighs fused together like slime. As the baby transformed, Roppi turned to grab Hibiya. The brunette child was lifted and put back in the tank as well.

Within minutes, the two were no longer humans, but mermaids. They dived into their tank and began swimming around.

"Night, you two."

The two emerged from the water.

"Good night, Papa."

"Night, Mommy!"

Roppi turned and left the room. He let out a heavy sigh as he leaned against the door.

"Roppi."

The mermaid looked down the stairs at Izaya. "Yeah."

"We need to talk."

Roppi groaned. "I don't want to talk about my missing kids, Izaya."

The red-eyed man walked down the stairs.

"We need to though." Izaya said. "I know you're still reeling, but—"

"But nothing."

Izaya glowered. "Fine. Then I want to know something else."

"What?" Roppi walked past the informant.

"How much do you know about me?"

Roppi stopped in his tracks and made eye contact with him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what you said to Shizu-chan today. How much do you know about the horrible things I've done?"

"Why do you call him Shizu-chan?"

"Because he hates it. Don't change the subject. How much do you know?"

Roppi stared at him. Then let out a heavy sigh. "I know about your suicide packs, your hands at the Dollars, the Yellow Scarves, and the little tidbit you had with the Saika shit too. I didn't know the Saika's were cursed objects but thanks to yesterday, I know that now. I also know you stabbed Shinra at the age of 15."

Izaya's eyes widened. "How did you find out any of that?"

Roppi looked back at Izaya. "I know you hate it when I analyze you."

"That's not what I asked."

"Once I figured out how to use the internet, I got in contact with some fuck named Tsukumoya Shinichi. He pointed me in the right direction to some security cameras and phone numbers."

Izaya's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I know you hate it when I analyze you."

"You went behind my back to get information on me."

"That's hypocritical, considering that's your job. You did it to me too, so we're even."

"What do you mean, I did it to you?"

"You went to go meet that Sakuraya and Shitsuo, didn't you?! That's why you were gone today! After I told you I don't want you to find my stolen children anymore!"

"How do you know that's what I was doing?"

"Because you said you put money towards that museum exhibit to draw them out or whatever! That exhibit opened yesterday! I can pay attention to dates!"

Izaya clenched his teeth. "You're being a pessimistic drama queen! One bad apple doesn't make the whole barrel rotten!"

"You know what, I would actually agree with you if it was for _any_ other reason! There is nothing drama queen-like to being rejected by the only child that should have remembered you! All the rest were infants! Like hell they'll remember me! And like hell they'll accept me!"

"Sakuraya and Shitsuo want to meet you! Psyche wants to meet you!"

"Until I have to tell them they're fucking monsters!"

"You're the one who selfishly decided that on your own! I had to clean up your mess! I went to meet Psyche today too! Do you know how destroyed that kid was? He cried! He asked me for ten minutes what he did to make you want to abandon him too!"

Roppi's brows furrowed in sorrow while his eyes widened. His hands were shaking.

"Psyche wants to meet you, Roppi. He knows he's adopted and has desperately been trying to find his birth parents. He doesn't care if you want to meet him or not. In his opinion, you abandoned him, so you don't have a right to deny him one meeting."

Roppi jolted. "I didn't abandon him! He was stolen from me!"

"He doesn't know that!"

"You explained it to him, right?"

"I gave him a sugarcoated version. That's why he's understanding of you and isn't being demanding! But he wants to meet you!"

"I…"

"Sakuraya and Shitsuo want to meet you too! Their adoptive father wasn't as kind to them. Sexually assaulting and borderline torturing them as a form of discipline. Sakuraya particularly."

"That…"

"Sakuraya's pregnant. And he's beyond terrified and miserable."

Roppi's eyes stretched wide.

"The pregnancy was not consensual. He doesn't know if he wants to get an abortion or not."

"…Getting an abortion is more life-threatening with mermaids than with humans. Especially if that mermaid has legs. Because we're hermaphroditic, our organs get shifted around so our womb is behind our digestive track instead of under. He can get one, but it'll be a bit more risky with mermaids. If…he wants to get an abortion, it'd be best if he had a fin."

"He's going to be scared."

Roppi's brows furrowed. But he nodded.

"He could really use a mother's comfort."

Roppi glanced to the side. "I…I don't know, Izaya…I don't want to be hurt like that anymore."

"You've lost children before."

"It's different than this! I've had children killed in front of me. Children stolen. Kids who've decided to cut contact with me for the sake of their happily ever after. But…but, to be rejected like that. To be forgotten. That hurts so, _so_ much more. No matter how much I told him, he refused to believe the truth. He treated me like I was some kind of…like I was just some crazy bimbo! It hurt so much more than if he had died!"

Izaya walked up to Roppi. The mermaid looked up at him with barely contained tears.

"I know you're hurting." Izaya said, putting his hands on Roppi's biceps. He rubbed his thumbs soothingly against his bare flesh. "But don't you think the children that were separated from you are hurting too? Psyche wants to know where he came from. Sakuraya and Shitsuo need someone who knows what they've been through. They _need_ you, Roppi."

Roppi closed his eyes tight shut and clenched his teeth. "I! I need to…think about this. Let me sleep on it."

Izaya nodded. He kissed Roppi's forehead—in comfort and nothing more.

"Hey," Roppi said, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

Izaya stared down at him. Roppi glanced up and made eye contact. It was brief as he quickly looked down.

"Yeah." Izaya said. "Okay."

* * *

Izaya groaned to his alarm blaring. He rolled over to grab his phone. He forced his eye open and hit the snooze option. He let out a heavy sigh and rolled back over.

Five minutes passed, and it went off again. He didn't want to get up, but he had to. His first client was going to be in at 9:30a.m. He needed to get up and wash up. He let out a long yawn. He then forced himself to sit up.

The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't in the center of his bed. He immediately remembered he shared his bed with Hachimenroppi last night. Nothing sexual; they didn't even cuddle. Roppi had his back to Izaya the entire night. Izaya wasn't even certain the mermaid had fallen asleep.

But now Roppi was gone. Izaya found that odd. Roppi did not like waking up early. He slept in until noon or one in the afternoon. It was only 8:30a.m. Izaya's ensuite bathroom door was still open. The mermaid obviously wasn't in there. Suspicion flooded Izaya's chest.

 ** _'He may have moved to his bed.'_**

Izaya threw the blankets off and went to the restroom. He relieved himself, washed his face, and got dressed. He was downstairs by 8:50a.m. Namie wouldn't be in for another 10 minutes. She never showed up early but was never late. Perfectly, on the dot, she would show at 9a.m. without fail.

However, he wasn't interested in that. He was interested in the empty living room.

 ** _'He must have moved to his own bed.'_**

Izaya wasn't sure how that was the case. The informant was a light sleeper. Why didn't he get woken up when Roppi got up? Was Roppi really that silent? Izaya didn't know.

The informant spotted a piece of paper on his desk. It was out of place and definitely not there before he went to bed. Izaya walked over and read it.

 _'Couldn't sleep. Took the kids with me. I'll text you when I get back.'_

 _—HRAC_

 ** _'Is that supposed to be his signature?'_** Izaya glowered.

Izaya turned the screen to his smart phone on and swiped. He went to the text icon and clicked Hachimenroppi.

 **[What time did you leave this morning?]**

Izaya waited.

 ***PING* [live 4 this morning.]**

 **[Were the babies okay with that?]**

 ***PING* [They wake up at 430 ever morn to use the bathrom it wasn a prob]**

 ** _'I always questioned how they went to the restroom as mermaids.'_**

Izaya typed. **[it's been five hours now. Why don't you come home?]**

 ***PING* [Dont want to]**

Izaya glowered. **[I won't be done with work until 2 this afternoon.]**

 ***PING* [I took my escrima sticks the babies are with Celty right now ill be fine]**

 ***PING* [I needed fresh air. couldnt think]**

Izaya wanted to argue that this wasn't fine. But he also couldn't cancel his plans. He had to keep his image up now that he had a potentially dangerous target on him because of the mermaids. He had a lot of information to find and his clients should be able to assist him with that. He couldn't afford to cancel on them last minute.

In the end, Izaya let out a heavy sigh and typed. **[Don't hop all around Tokyo, please. Did you grab my wallet?]**

 ***PING* [No. I did take the blak card from it you said the blak one was for my use and didnt hav a pin]**

 **[Alright good. There actually is a pin. It's 1380.]**

 ***PING* [Cab driver didnt ask for a pin.]**

 **[Most systems don't nowadays but all cards still have pins. And a lot of large transaction will as for a pin]**

 ***PING* [ok I wont spend much]**

 **[Don't worry about the price. You won't exceed the limit on the card]**

 ***PING* [Okay]**

Izaya sighed as he put the phone down on the dresser.

 ***PING***

Izaya glanced back at it. He turned the screen back on.

 **[Thanks for everything, Izaya. You've really helped me out a lot and I appreciate it.]**

A warmth seeped into Izaya's heart. He couldn't help but smile at the genuine affection he was given.

 **[You're welcome.]** Izaya replied.

With his morning turned undoubtably good, he went about starting some coffee for himself and preparing for the day ahead.

* * *

Across Tokyo, in Akihabara, Roppi was just wondering the streets aimlessly. There were so many stores filled with books, jewelry, figurines, even cosplay. Roppi was hopping from shop to shop, just browsing with no intention of buying anything.

There were only two things he was interested in: Anubis and Greek. He came across some adult costumes for things like Heracles from a show called Fate*. There were actually a lot of Greek legends from this series. Achilles, Sthenos, Euryale, Medusa, even Hector and Leonidas. He was even more shocked to see Atalanta made it to their regiment, although for some reason she had cat ears. In a way that made sense but Roppi was confused with their choice. The one that seemed the most popular was Gilgamesh and King Arthur—although, Arthur's outfit looked more like a dress and Gilgamesh was lavished in gold. Roppi wasn't sure if that was in reference to history or some authors creativity. Gilgamesh was long before Roppi's time, as well as Arthur. But the only Egyptian's Roppi could see were some man named Ozymandias—who Roppi didn't know—and Cleopatra, the last queen of Egyptian and the ultimate destroyer of the Egyptian royal family. Nothing about Anubis so Roppi lost interest.

The book stores he went to had nothing to do with Anubis either. He found that Fate story, but without Anubis, Roppi wasn't interested. One story called Yu-Gi-Oh had Anubis in it, but he was a one show villain as far as the movie was concerned. And then there was something called JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, which apparently had Anubis in it as well. But the lord of the dead was just a side thought from what Roppi could understand. The clerk recommended Magi for Arabian tales, but Arabian didn't include Egyptian it would seem, so again, Roppi had no interest.

Roppi eventually entered a jewelry store. At this point he was feeling disheartened of finding anything to do with his patron god. He desperately wanted to find something about Anubis. He didn't really need some item in order to know Anubis was there, but in his times of depression, he wanted to hold something as he prayed. Even if it was just some adorable plush that looked nothing like Anubis, he wanted something.

And right now, Roppi wanted Anubis' aid. He was lost and torn about what he should do with his lost children. He needed guidance from above. He could ask any god, but there were only two that he cared to listen from. Poseidon wouldn't be able to help him, however. It was proven that Poseidon didn't care much for his children since they were all monstrous, so there was little hope that he'd actually be able to help. Anubis, on the other hand, was caring and compassionate. Despite having no children, Anubis could at least empathize with him.

For that reason, he wanted Anubis. He wanted his guidance. And he wanted something to pray to besides the sky.

"Hello!" the jewelry store clerk—a male with green hair—said, "Anything specific you're looking for?"

Roppi looked at the man. "Got anything Egyptian? Specifically, the ankh."

The man put a finger up. He turned around and went behind the register desk. He opened a glass container and pulled out a black box. He returned to Roppi, opened the box, and pulled out a black ribbon choker. On the end was a golden ankh that seemed a bit too big for the ribbon. He held it up to Roppi on display.

"This is the only item that's Egyptian we have." The clerk said.

"How much is it?" Roppi asked.

The clerk flipped the box over. "¥7,800 ($78)."

"That's a bit pricy for a black ribbon."

"The ankh is made of sterling silver with a 14K layer of gold over it."

Roppi nodded. Roppi knew that in recent years, the price of gold had become far more valuable but at the same time cheaper. In Roppi's time, gold was on everything—statues, candleholders, jewelry—however, it was still worth a pretty penny to a merchant. Now, gold was rare, and people plastered fake gold on everything to make it cheaper.

"Alright." Roppi stated, "I'll take it."

"Thank you for your purchase!" The man said.

The man went about ringing the item up and Roppi used the card reader to pay for it.

"Would you like it gift wrapped?" the man asked.

"No." Roppi grabbed the box off the counter and opened it.

He pulled the necklace out and put it around his neck.

"Oh, it's for you!"

Roppi looked at him as he fastened the clasp.

"I thought it was for your girlfriend or something. Sorry for assuming."

"Nah, it's fine." Roppi said. "I just need something for my patron god."

The man cocked a brow. "What do you mean?"

"Some people where crosses for God. It's the same thing."

"Oh. So, you believe in the Egyptian gods?"

"Call me crazy if you want."

"No, no! I believe in coexistence. I'm actually Christian but my parents are Buddhist so…"

"…That's comforting…"

"So, if you don't mind me asking, who's your patron god?"

Roppi looked at him. "Anubis."

The man cocked a brow. "I thought the ankh meant life."

"It represents life and death. In hieroglyphics, it's usually depicted as life but in all depiction of Anubis, he has an ankh around his neck. As the weigher of all souls, it's important for him to value the life of the person before him, else he won't be able to weigh them properly."

"…That's very true. Wow, I never looked at it like that."

"Your welcome." Roppi grabbed the box off the counter and put it in his pocket. "Thanks. Have a good day."

"Have a good day."

Roppi left the store. His hands reached up to touch the ankh around his neck.

 ** _'Hey, Anubis, it's been a while. Sorry I haven't prayed in a while. I didn't want you to know about my situation. It was a bit shameful. I…could really use your guidance right now though.'_**

There was no response.

 ** _'I…recently, I got myself put into slavery. And this bastard stole my children from me. I met one of them, the other day, and he didn't remember me at all even though he was old enough to remember me. It hurt. It hurt so much! And now, there are other children who want to meet me. They want to know their mother, but I'm scared. I'm scared they're going to reject me too. Once I tell them that they're monsters, they'll reject me as well. I don't want that. I know it may not make sense, but it hurts so much worse than if my children had died.'_**

There was still only silence.

 ** _'Maybe I should learn how to spirit walk. If I could, then I could talk to them whenever I want. Wonder if it'd be worth it.'_**

Roppi rubbed his thumb over the ankh. In the depth of his heart, a bittersweet began to stir. It was different from resonating but something he still recognized.

 ** _'I wanna see Anubis again.'_**

Roppi felt like he was going to cry as the longing grew. He wanted to see those beautiful brown eyes and Arabian flesh. His brown hair; his small physique. The jackal ears, the tail, the feet. He wanted to see it all. He wanted to hold Anubis close and just listen to his heartbeat.

Roppi let out a heavy sigh.

 ** _'Anubis, I miss you so much.'_**


	27. Chapter 27

**Izaya: [Hey, I'm leaving the house. Where are you at?]**

 **Roppi: [I got the kids were in Ikebu wanna meet at that park we met yesterday]**

 **Izaya: [You sure? You might encounter Shizu-chan.]**

 **Roppi: [Im fine were headin at the park]**

 **Izaya: [There's another park across town. It's got a fountain and some riding boucy toys.]**

 **Roppi: [Alright we'll head there.]**

 **Izaya: [Okay. I'll be there in fourty minutes or so.]**

 **Roppi: [See you then.]**

* * *

Roppi sat down on the edge of the fountain, soaking his bare feet in the water. He rolled his jeans up to his knees and stretched his legs out far. Hibiya sat on his left side while Tsukishima was on his left. The toddlers were also soaking their feet, their socks tucked in their shoes.

"Mommy, I wanna swim." Hibiya said.

"You can't." Roppi said. "There are too many people and you'll sprout your fin."

"But it's hot!"

"I know it is. But there are too many people."

Hibiya pouted.

"You can swim when we get home."

"Okay…"

Roppi ruffled Hibiya's hair.

"Daddy," Tsukishima said, "are we mee-ting our sibwing again?"

"…I…don't know."

"Do you wan' to?"

"…Not really…no. But…it's not fair to them, is it?"

"It's not fair to Mommy eit'er." Hibiya said. "Mommy should no be made sad to make ot'er happy."

Roppi stared down at the baby wide-eyed. Hibiya glowered up at him. The adult chuckled at the expression before ruffling Hibiya's hair again.

"You're so smart, Hibiya." Roppi rubbed the toddler's ear.

"I know!"

Roppi held back a laugh. He leaned forward, rested his elbows on his knees and tucked his hands under his chin to prop his head.

"Hey, boys." Roppi said. "What do you think of Izaya?"

"I love Daddy!" Hibiya called. "I wanna stay wit' Daddy fourefor!"

Roppi clenched his fists but said nothing.

"Iza…" Tsuki started. "He wemind me off a snake. He nice, but t'ere's somet'ing…wong."

Roppi stared down at the blond wide-eyed. "You don't trust him?"

Tsukishima shook his head. "My tummy says so."

Roppi smiled down at his child, although it was laced with sadness. "You're more instinctually entuned. That's a good thing."

"Why arwe you sad?"

Roppi just smiled. "You're so observant. That's a great quality. Never lose that, okay?"

"…Papa?"

"It's nothing. I'm just feeling melancholic."

"Is it cuz of te bad man?" Hibiya asked.

"A little bit." Roppi stared at the water pouring down. "But he isn't the main cause. He's just what started it."

Roppi leaned down and kissed Tsuki's head. Then he kissed Hibiya's.

"I'm just feeling lonely. But I'll be okay."

Hibiya leaned over and wrapped his arms as far around Roppi's waists as his hands could reach. Roppi stared down at him wide-eyed. Hibiya glowered up at him.

"Hugs make evewyt'ing better." Hibiya said. "Hug me back!"

Roppi felt like he was going to cry. "Hibi—"

Tsukishima hugged Roppi on the other side. Roppi felt his chest weld with overwhelming happiness as his eyes flooded with tears. Roppi closed his eyes tight shut and clenched his teeth. He lifted the babes up onto his lap and hugged them to his chest tightly.

"You're going to make me cry." Roppi tried not to sob but he couldn't stop it. "That's not playing fair."

"It alright, Mama." Hibiya said. "It okay to cry. Once you cry, you can be happy again."

Roppi chuckled. He rubbed his hand through Hibiya and Tsukishima's hair and kissed their foreheads. "I love you two so much."

"We wove you too." Tsukishima kissed Roppi's cheek.

"Love you, Mommy!" Hibiya tugged Roppi's hair.

Roppi chuckled as he nuzzled his cheeks against the toddler's foreheads.

The family of three sat there like that for a good five minutes. Roppi cried softly into the babe's soft hair. His hid his face in blond and black locks until he could compose himself properly. Roppi breathed in deeply. He titled is head back and exhaled heavily.

"Babies don't play fair. They don't play fair at all."

"Sorry." Hibiya said.

"The dog man towd us to." Tsukishima stated.

Roppi's eyes widened. He quickly looked down. "The dog man?"

The two nodded.

"What do you mean the dog man?"

"He had the head of a doggy!" Hibiya called. "But he was a pershon! There was gold and wubies and he onwy wore a skirt!"

"He was weally nice." Tsuki said. "Said he saw you cwying yesterday and knew you needed help."

"He towd us to be rearry nice to you today and to make you know youw woved!"

"He said we had to wove you lot to make up for him not woving you now."

"When did you see this man?" Roppi asked.

"In our dream!" Hibiya beamed.

"Hibi-Nii and I had the same dweam rast night."

Roppi just stared, unable to respond. **_'Kids are naturally entuned with the spirit realm until they start discerning reality from mentality. It's completely possible Anubis could have visited them.'_**

"Papa?"

"Mommy?"

 ** _'That means…Anubis has been watching me. This entire time…'_**

Shame flooded Roppi's chest. It was hot, burning, and it hurt.

 ** _'Not that. Anything but that. I was fine with being raped, but being raped with an audience—no, if it had been any other god, I would have been fine. But not Anubis. He can't see me like that!'_**

"Papa…" Tsukishima tugged Roppi's shirt.

The raven jolted. He finally registered his toddlers and made eye contact with the both of them. "Sorry, I was thinking."

Roppi cleared his throat and put Hibiya down beside him. Then Tsukishima.

"I'm going text Izaya." Roppi said, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone.

"But the bad man's here."

"Eh?"

Hibiya pointed behind Roppi.

The adult looked over his shoulder to see the blond bartender walking over to them. He had been so preoccupied, he hadn't even felt the resonance. Since this is the third time meeting Shizuo in three days, Roppi wouldn't have a profound response anymore. Neither him or Shizuo should start crying at the sight of each other anymore. They should feel nothing more than a gut instinct telling them they were related, just like what Hibiya and Tsukishima felt when they first met him.

Roppi's eyes immediately narrowed. He let out a growl of annoyance. The mermaid shoved his phone into his pocket and stood. He unfastened the belt around his waist and dropped his escima sticks next to his shoes.

"You two stay here." He said to the toddlers.

"Okay."

"Yes, Papa."

Roppi stepped out of the fountain, shaking one foot at a time behind him similar to a cat. He then walked over to Shizuo barefoot.

"Are you fucking stalking me or something?" Roppi growled, arms crossed and glaring.

"No. I just happen to be nearby." Shizuo glared.

"Real coincidental."

"Shut up. I just have a feeling you were close by and I want to see you."

"Well I don't want to see you."

"Why? Because Izaya told you not to?"

Roppi pulled his lip back I a snarl and an inhuman growl reverberated in his throat. "No, you shit. Because you tore my fucking heart to pieces. You wouldn't even begin to understand what you've put me through."

"I'm _telling_ you, I'm not—"

"I'm not hearing this shit again! Just leave me—leave us alone!"

"Unfortunately, I can't! Knowing that Izaya is using you in some way, I can't in good conscious leave it be!"

Roppi scoffed. "Look, I know some of what Izaya's done to you. I get you don't trust the guy. But you don't know him like I do."

"Do you hear yourself? That's what every woman says when defending a bad man in an abusive relationship! 'He's a bad guy but I can change him' bullshit!"

"I have no intention of changing him. I like him the way he is, with all his sociopathic tendencies. And I would like to state, I'm not being abused. I'm stronger than you are, so, if anything, I'm the abuser."

"That doesn't change that he's just using you!"

"I'm using him just as much. He gives me money, a roof over my head, and food in my kids bellies. Not to mention clothes and weapons to protect myself with."

"Bullshit. He's not that generous, not without a price."

Roppi shrugged. "The sex is pretty good, so I could count that as his price."

"That's—you're a mother! You shouldn't—you can't prostitute yourself like that! Think of your kids here!"

"First off, I'm not prostituting myself! Sex was never on the table before the kids were in the picture!"

"So now that the kids are here, he's suddenly horning for you?!"

"That is _not_ what I meant! Do not put words in my mouth! Izaya has done no wrong to my children and he has no intention of doing wrong!"

"Yeah, and what about you? There's no doubt in my mind, Izaya's going to use your kids against you to make you his servant!"

"Don't you think he would have done that already if that was the case? So, the fact that he would let me leave the house _with my kids_ shows he doesn't have that intention?!"

"I don't know what the flea's thinking! All I know is it's not good! He sees people like toys to use and throw away! If he can't use you, he'll destroy you! And he has that twisted love crap for humanity! There's no place for a monster like you in his world!"

Roppi swung his fist out, without pause or restraint. His knuckles slammed into Shizuo's cheek. The faux blonde's eyes stretched wide with shock as he was sent careening back. The blond struggled to keep his feet about him while Roppi shook out his hand.

"I know what I'm getting myself into." Roppi growled. "I've married his type before. I'm not scared and nothing you say is going to make me scared. However, right now, my heart is set on him and all the piece of shit flukes in his personalities. And as such, you don't get to talk bad about him, even if you are my son."

Shizuo rubbed his hand against his mouth, blood on his lip. Roppi had split his bottom lip. The blond seemed shocked as he stared at the raven wide-eyed.

"That…hurt…"

Roppi cocked a brow as he scoffed. "What, never felt a punch from someone with your own strength before?"

Shizuo immediately glared at him. "You…Listen, here!" The faux blond stood upright. "You talk to anyone in the fucking city besides me and they'll all tell you the same thing! Izaya is a rotten piece of shit who drags people to early graves! You'll be no different if you stick around him!"

"I KNOW THAT ALREADY!" Roppi lunged forward, arm pulled back in another swing.

Shizuo allowed instinct to fuel his response and grabbed Roppi's hand. Roppi tugged his arm hard. The blond gasped as he was tugged forward and coughed as the wind was knocked out of him due to Roppi's knee slamming into his solar plexus. Shizuo let the raven go and fell to his knees. His stomach churned with pain and he felt bile rise in his throat. He coughed, but luckily nothing came up.

Shizuo growled, glaring up at Roppi with enough hate to kill. "I don't want to hit a woman. I'm against violence towards women."

Roppi swung his foot out. His shin collided with Shizuo's cheek. "I'm only a woman when I'm with Izaya! Right now, I'm a fucking warrior. And chauvinist crap is going to get your jaw broken."

Roppi went for another kick. But Shizuo anticipated it this time. He grabbed the raven's ankle and tugged hard. Roppi gasped as he started doing the splits. He fell forward but twisted so he would land on his side. At the same time, he swung his other leg out towards Shizuo's face. Shizuo caught Roppi's knee and pushed him away.

The mermaid tumbled to the side but quickly pushed himself to his feet. Shizuo jumped up at well. With the dice played, the two were ready for a fight. And a fight they were going to have.

Shizuo charged first. He pulled his arm back in a swing. He aimed for Roppi's face. The raven stepped to the side in an elegant dodge. Shizuo swung again. Another dodge. Shizuo swung a third time, Roppi grabbed the blonde's wrist and curled his body into the curve of his arm. Closing the gap between the two, Roppi jammed his elbow into Shizuo's sternum.

Shizuo called out in pain before backing away. Roppi refused him however, holding his wrist fast. The blond growled and tried to tug him arm away violently. Roppi didn't release. Instead, he leaned back. He planted a foot to Shizuo's ribs and gripped his arm with both hands.

Shizuo didn't allow him to continue what he was doing. He raised his arm up till Roppi's foot left the ground. The raven gasped before Shizuo began swinging his arm widely, like he was trying to swat a fly off his arm. Roppi held on desperately—the alternative being letting go and getting sent flying, which was unappealing to the raven. Shizuo growled and reached his held hand towards Roppi's face. The blonde's hand came around Roppi's throat. The mermaid's eyes stretched wide as he was sung down. He slammed against the concrete shoulder blade first, Shizuo squeezing his throat.

Roppi clenched his teeth and glared at his son. He kicked off of the ground to give momentum to his movements. He swung his legs around Shizuo's arm and wrapped them around the bicep tightly. He slammed his bare foot to the blonde's neck and pushed while tilting his head back. Shizuo lost purchase on his throat. Still pushing on the blonde's neck, Roppi hooked his other foot around the back of Shizuo's neck.

Using an inhuman strength, Roppi pulled down with his feet. Shizuo's face slammed into the concrete. The blond groaned before Roppi put one knee on the ground. Still holding Shizuo's arm, the raven stood. He stepped on Shizuo's neck, so the blond couldn't raise himself with his arm.

The blonde's shoulder gave a grotesque pop. Shizuo's eyes widened as he felt a pain he hadn't felt in years. The pain of a dislocated shoulder. It wasn't enough to make Shizuo called out, but it made him clench his teeth.

Roppi threw Shizuo's arm down, the limb thudding against the ground with a limp thunk.

"You should learn to pick your fights." Roppi looked down at Shizuo with a cold glare, as if looking down at an inferior. "I'm a trained warrior, not some punk-ass kid."

Shizuo glared up at him as he put his uninjured arm under him and pushed himself up. "Don't brag when the fights still—"

"This fight is over. Save your dignity and admit defeat."

Shizuo pushed himself to his feet, holding his dislocated arm. "You—"

"You're not going to win. I was trained in Sparta, partook and lived through the Trojan War. I'm a hardened veteran. You're nothing compared to me."

"If you're that skilled then why are you wasting your time on Izaya?!" Shizuo yelled. "You seem to have a good head on your shoulders. You shouldn't be with trash like him!"

"Izaya's my type mentally speaking. Intelligent, calculating, cold. He's got ice in his vein and that's a quality I like to see in my S.O's."

"So, you like fucking psychopaths?! What's wrong with you? Your kids—"

"Izaya isn't a psycho. He's a sociopath. The fact that he doesn't have blood on his hands despite being the cause of some deaths is proof of that."

"You're twisted! You've got children to worry about!"

"My kids will be fine. They're not weak-willed like you."

Shizuo glared at him.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!"

Roppi jolted as something slammed into the back of his leg. The raven looked down to see Hibiya, staring up at him with awe.

"I told you to wait over there." Roppi grumbled.

"That was awesome! So awesome! You beat the bad man so fast!"

"Battles usually aren't long if you know what you're doing." Roppi leaned down and picked the babe up.

"I wanna do that! Teach me to do that!"

"You're not old enough yet."

"But I wanna learn!"

"I will teach you. But you need to be older. You have to have the body of an 8-year-old before we can start training."

"Why?!"

"EIGHT?!" Shizuo yelled. "That's way to young! You can't!"

Roppi turned to look at him. "That is the age they started training the boys in Sparta. And the Spartans were never invaded, never defeated on their home turf. It's an appropriate age to start."

"Yeah, and plenty of boys died in the Spartan barracks!"

Roppi's eye widened. "I'm surprised you know that."

The raven put the infant down. He walked over to Shizuo.

"But that fact is a little construed. To be in the barracks is what all Spartan boys strived for. If they failed, or dropped out of the barracks, it was the biggest disgrace to his honor and to his family. So, these boys would push themselves until they died. They weren't murdered in the barracks, but pushed past their bodily limits and ended up getting themselves killed. That was a better honor than dropping out of the barracks. Don't move."

Roppi put his hand on Shizuo's shoulder. The blond flinched, glaring at him. "What are you doing?"

"Would you rather go to the hospital?"

Shizuo glared. Roppi put a hand on Shizuo's shoulder, close to his sternum. He pushed the palm of his hand into the blonde's collar bone. He then pressed his other hand to Shizuo's shoulder, right next to the ball and socket joint.

"On three. Ready? One—"

Roppi pushed with both hands. There was a horrendous pop and Shizuo called out due to reflex more than pain. The pop was so loud in his ear it startled him rather than hurt. Roppi let the blond go and Shizuo walked to the side. He swung his arm, holding his shoulder. His shoulder popped multiple times as he rolled the joint out.

Shizuo glared at him. "Why'd you do that?"

"What, help you?"

"Duh."

Roppi growled. "Because you have the right to your dignity. If you had a choice between walking away with pride or walking away like a beat dog, I think you'd prefer your pride."

Shizuo gave him a gaze that spoke his confliction. "You…you're a good person. Yet, you and Izaya…"

"Are you still on about that?" Roppi stepped up to him, getting almost too close as he said in a low voice, "Listen to me. I know what I'm getting myself into. I know the type of person Izaya is. But I'm not scared of him. I don't need to be scared of him. He's not a good man, I know that. But right now, he's the man for me."

"You're wasted on Izaya."

"Probably. But I'm okay with that."

"You…are you in love with him?"

Roppi didn't respond immediately. Instead he stared down at the ground with a complacent expression. "…Maybe…"

Shizuo didn't know how to respond to that.

Someone started clapping. "That was quite impressive, Roppi-san."

Roppi jolted and quickly looked over his shoulder. Shizuo looked up at well, glaring at the man whose voice set his teeth on edge.

"How long have you been here?" Roppi asked.

Izaya smiled. "Long enough to see Shizuo get his ass handed to him in two minutes flat."

"Fuck you, flea."

"You didn't land a single hit on Roppi-chan! He took you out with such impressive speed!"

"Fuck you!"

"Daddy! Daddy, you saw that, right?!" Hibiya rushed over to Izaya.

"Oh, I did, Hibi! I saw _everything_!"

Roppi glared at Izaya, a blush on his cheeks. **_'He didn't hear me, did he?'_**

Instead of confirming anything, Roppi rushed over the fountain. Tsukishima, being the obedient boy he was, had stayed seated like Roppi told him. Roppi knelt in front of his babe and helped him put his socks and shoes on. Roppi then brushed his feet off and put on his own socks and shoes. He then picked Tsuki and Hibiya's shoes up and walked over to Izaya.

"Let's go." Roppi growled.

"You sure? You don't want to talk to Shizu-cha—"

"No." Roppi grabbed Izaya's arm. "Let's go."

"Alright, alright, don't tug me."

"Hey, wait!" Shizuo reached out and grabbed Roppi's arm.

The mermaid glared at him with enough hate to kill. The stare made Shizuo flinch. But he stoned himself and spoke.

"I…I want…to get to know you. I don't believe I'm your son but I won't be able to figure that out unless I talk to you. So…could we, meet again, without that fuck showing up?" Shizuo glared at Izaya.

Roppi did not look certain about that. "I…"

Shizuo just stared at him.

Roppi couldn't meet his eye. "I'll think about it."

Roppi turned with nothing more to say. Shizuo looked disappointed but said nothing more. Izaya glowered at the blond.

 ** _'Don't get close to my woman.'_**

Izaya turned away, following after Roppi as he tried to push that thought out of his mind. Shizuo was Roppi's son. Izaya shouldn't feel threatened by him. But they were natural enemies, so he couldn't stop that pit of hatred from seeping in.

The group of four walked away from the blond as Tom called out to Shizuo, walking around the corner.

"Eh, what happened, Shizuo?" Tom asked as he walked up to the blond.

"…Nothing…Um, is lunch over?"

"Yeah. You ready to go?"

"…Yeah."

 ** _'That's right, go away.'_** Izaya thought with a vindictive happiness. **_'Go back to your dog kennel away from my mermaid.'_**

"Daddy, I'm hungry!" Hibiya yelled.

Izaya looked down at the babe. "Oh, yeah?"

Hibiya nodded.

"Roppi-san, are you hungry?"

Roppi glanced at Izaya. "…Yeah, I guess. Are you hungry, Tsukishima?"

The blond toddler nodded.

"Alright, let's go to lunch!"


	28. Chapter 28

"Alrighty! I'll get your order started for you!" The waitress stated, writing down the last bit of information on her notepad.

"Thank you." Izaya said.

She then turned and sped away.

Roppi sipped on a glass of water. The foursome was in a small American-style family restaurant. Roppi and Tsukishima sat on one side of the booth while Izaya and Hibiya sat on the other. The toddlers were busy coloring on some children's menus with crayons.

"Are you alright, Roppi-san?" Izaya asked.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just got into a fight with Shizu-chan. I don't know many parents who would fist-fight their own kid and walk away unfazed."

Roppi stared up at him. Then shrugged. "It is what it is. Honestly, what I hate the most is how persistent he is. His instincts are telling him to pursue this but he's not using his brain long enough to figure out why."

"He's always been an idiot. It's probably in your best interest not to come to Ikebukuro anymore."

"I'm not going to let a muscle-head chase me out of a town."

Izaya chuckled softly. "Your pride is speaking louder than your self-preservation."

"Without my pride, my self-preservation is meaningless."

"That is something I can agree with. Although, your hypocrisy is showing. Weren't you the one who told me 'your dignity is not more important than your life'?"

"Yeah, _your_ dignity isn't. Mine is worth dying for."

"You hypocrite." Izaya said with a chuckle.

"Yup."

Izaya chuckled again. Roppi did too.

"Neh, Roppi-san."

"Hm?"

"You mentioned a while ago that there were different kinds of mermaids in the world. Eastern, Western and others."

"Changing the subject, huh?"

"Would you rather keep talking about Shizu-chan?"

"…Not really."

"Then can you explain the other types to me?"

"Here are your drinks!" The waitress returned with a round tray of glasses. She put a Dr. Pepper in front of Roppi, a milkshake in front of Tsukishima and Hibiya, and a coffee in front of Izaya. "Your food will be out in just a bit."

"Thank you." Roppi said.

The waitress sped off.

"I like her. Make sure to give her a good tip."

Izaya cocked a brow. Then chuckled. "We don't tip in Japan."

"Eh?" Roppi looked at him. "Why not?"

"Why pay extra when they are already getting paid to do their job? They don't need our charity."

"Three dollars an hour isn't enough to live off of though."

Izaya cocked a brow again. "They're not getting paid three dollars and hour. They're getting paid the same wage as everyone else."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Huh, weird."

"That's not weird. That makes absolute sense."

"That's not how restaurants run in America."

"We're not in America."

"Well, in America, you leave a tip to show they did a good job. Show that you were satisfied with your service."

"I'm fully aware of the practice. It seems a little silly though, relying on kissing up to people in order to get your next paycheck. If a customer is rude, they'll most-likely not leave a tip even if you did a good job. In that way, your income seems a bit sketchy and unstable. I wouldn't trust that way of living."

"Since it's a practice, a waitress can easily make ¥20,000 ($200) in two days without question."

"Still, that seems like a very unreliable way to live."

Roppi shrugged. "I don't see anything wrong with it."

"I would argue that you should. But I'll put this conversation under duress."

"Still wanna know about the types of mermaids?"

"Yes."

Roppi chuckled and took a gulp of water. "Alright, so what do you want to know?"

"The different types. You mentioned there were Caribbean and Arctic mermaids before."

"There's also Amazon."

"That I question since the Amazon is a river."

"It's the biggest river in the world. There's plenty of room for mermaids in there. I would like to state that Amazon's are the only freshwater mermaids. They can't switch like we can. Oh, and Caribbean's are the only saltwater mermaids. Arctic's don't really leave the ocean because of the temperature flux. So more often than not, if you see a mermaid out of the ocean, it's probably an Eastern or Western."

Izaya nodded. Roppi took another drink of water.

"As I mentioned before, tropical mermaids are all strictly female and are savages. Breeding-wise, Amazon's follow the practice of their human counterparts. The Amazon's of Greece would enslave men just to breed then kill them. I heard rumors they ate them as well. But I know that the Amazon mermaids do the same thing, only they definitely eat them. I also heard that they can produce male spawns and that's how they've been breeding currently. Apparently, they're starting to have effects due to inbreeding, from what I heard. Caribbean's are more magic-based and breed with other females. I don't really know how, like I said before. Oh, and they only birth females. No male Caribbean mermaid has ever been born as far as I know. My knowledge only comes from female mermaids being able to talk to those clans. If I were to try to talk to them myself, I'd get eaten alive. They are horrifically savage. They're the mermaids that give us a bad rep as man-eaters."

"Then the reputation that mermaids are good and fall in love with humans comes from who?"

"You mean, The Little Mermaid story?"

"Yeah."

"That comes from Western mermaids."

"Ah."

"I don't know about the original story, but the whole concept of King Trident and Atlantica comes from Greece so…"

"Is Atlantica real?"

"No, not in the slightest. That's just Disney crap."

"Well, there is some truth behind it. Atlantica is what was called the land mass that connected the West to Europe. How much do you know about dinosaurs?"

"I like dinosaurs, so I actually did some studying on them when I came up to land after World War II."

"So, you know about the fossil records that show that life started in the ocean?"

"Yup indeed. That fishies came up on land and sprouted legs."

Izaya nodded. "Atlantica was prominent around that time, while there was still no life on land and only single-celled life starting in the ocean. It connected West Africa to South America and eventually, that land sunk under the ocean. The term 'Atlantica' was coined for it because that land gave away to the Atlantic Ocean."

"Huh."

"It was called that in 1996 so I'm not surprised you didn't know about it."

Roppi nodded. "Yeah, makes sense. I was only on land till 1990."

"When did you start on land?"

"Which time?"

"The most recent. With Miss Sharon."

Roppi put a finger up in pause and took a gulp of water. The glass was half empty now and he hadn't touched his Dr. Pepper yet. "I came up in 1982. Miss Sharon passed away in 1988. My affair with Horatio started when she got sick in 1987 but that ended six months after she passed. Then it's the story as you know. Horatio started falling apart, got divorced, and became an alcoholic."

Izaya nodded. "Did you love him?"

Roppi glowered at him. The mermaid grabbed the glass of water and took a drink.

"Hello, sorry for the wait!" The waitress returned with a tray of food. "So, I have the American hamburger, no mayonnaise." She put the plate in front of Roppi. "The kid's chicken strip."

"That's his." Roppi reached out and took the plate, putting it in front of Tsuki.

"Alright, here's the kid's fish and chips." She put it in front of Hibiya. "And the chicken Caesar salad." She put it in front of Izaya.

"Thank you." Roppi said. He looked down at his boys. "What do you say?"

"Thank you!" They both called.

"You're welcome!" The waitress smiled. "I'll come check on you in a bit."

Roppi nodded. She sped away.

"Back onto the topic." Roppi said, grabbing the ketchup. "So, the Amazon and the Caribbean mermaids are savage women. They are definitely the animals of our species. The Arctic's are actually really nice. Territorial, but can be reasoned with. They've got a lot of blubber on them to keep them warm, so they make up some human species known as Eskimo's or ice people. Or whatever you guys call them. They're big, puffy guys. You could call them the obese mermaids—mind you, the rest of us have high metabolisms so you'll never see a pudgy mermaid. I've met a hunting party of them once. I couldn't go with them to their land because their water is far too cold, but we had a nice chat. Apparently, the shock of transformation and the cold doesn't affect them. What I mean is, when we go from human to mermaid, there's obviously a bodily shock to our system. On top of which, the shock of the cold of the water can cause a heart attack. That's why you'll never see me trying to go to the ocean in the winter. That shock would probably kill me. But they don't have to worry about it, despite being in sub-zero temperatures."

"Interesting. There're more variants than I thought there would be. I wonder, if you were born any other species of mermaid, would you be happier?"

Roppi glowered at him.

"Daddy, can I have ketchup?" Tsukishima asked.

"Here." Roppi popped the cap and put a puddle of red on his plate.

"…I notice you don't correct them with how they call you." Izaya said. "Tsukishima has called you mommy, daddy, and papa."

"He can call me what he wants so long as it's appropriate to what I am. I'm both gender so whichever is fine by me."

Izaya nodded. "Are you content, Roppi-san?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean."

"No, I really don't."

Izaya just stared at him. Roppi took a drink of water. The cup was nearly empty now.

"If I wanted to have a heart to heart with you, I wouldn't have come to a fucking diner to do that." Roppi said. "Just shut up and eat your food."

Izaya said nothing more. He looked at Roppi, who grabbed his burger and began to eat, with a questioning gaze. No, a scrutinizing gaze. Roppi glowered at him.

The informant said nothing more and began eating. **_'He's still not over Shizu-chan. Doesn't help that beast won't leave him alone. Maybe I should do something. Make it so Shizu-chan's preoccupied so he stops bothering Roppi. Akane-chan's been with him quite regularly now, so I could use her again. Ah, but if I do that, the Awakusu-kai will be against me. I was able to plead my innocence last time with only Shiki-san suspicious of me. Twice wouldn't be considered a coincidence.'_**

Izaya took a drink of coffee.

 ** _'Before I do anything, I need to calm my jealousy. If I do anything based on monopolizing Roppi, I won't be able to plan properly. I need to calm myself. His pheromones are still…'_**

 _"If you still see me as something fuckable then that's on you, not the pheromones!"_

Izaya glowered. "Neh, Roppi-chan?"

"Hm?"

"If I expose myself to your pheromones, will I start acting psycho jealous again?"

Roppi looked up at him. "You mean, if you white turkey yourself from me then come back?"

"Something like that. What I mean is, will I start developing a resistance or will I just go farther down the rabbit hole of possessiveness?"

"That would all depend on your testosterone. Since that kind of thing fluxes with your pH, it's entirely possible that you can go full yandere crazy. Or you could lose all interest in me." Roppi shrugged.

"So, if my pH doesn't flux but I start feeling crazy jealous all the time?"

"That's on you, not my pheromones. That's just a part of your personality, it would seem."

Izaya glowered. "I never thought of myself as a jealous person."

"Well, here's the question: Are you jealous because I've loved others? Are you jealous because of my connection with Shizuo? Or do you just want me all to yourself, so all men are potential enemies?"

Izaya fell silent. He looked to the side to give it some thought. As he did so, the waitress returned and filled Roppi's water cup.

 ** _'…The notion that he's loved others before me annoys me. But that's mostly because of the way he treats me. He compares me to those others and uses that to fuel his pessimism. So, maybe it's not jealousy. Just annoyance of being compared. Whoever he's loved, I know I am better than them, but he's still hung up for some reason and uses that to influence his interactions with me…Or has he? Is that all in my head? Other than our fight in the fountain, I don't think he's compared me, has he?'_**

"…Roppi-chan."

"Hm?"

"What am I to you, in comparison to your past loves?"

Roppi immediately glared at him. "Would you stop with that? Quit with the 'did you love him' 'did you sleep with him' crap."

"That's not it. That's not why I'm asking."

"Then why?" Roppi took a generous drink of water, emptying half the cup.

"I've got it in my head that you've been comparing me to your past loves and that's why you're so pessimistic about our relationship. Constantly saying you want to leave and such. So, I figure, instead of playing this game, I should just ask you upright."

Roppi glared at him for a moment. Then let out a sigh. "I'm not comparing you. If anything, I'm making an educated decision based of my past experiences. After all, nothing is for certain in this world except for the past. So, I just compare the things we've fought about with the things I've fought with my last S.O and go from there."

Izaya was silent.

"What?"

"Have you heard one of my rants before?"

"What do you mean?"

"'Nothing is for certain in this world except for the past'. That's…one of my philosophies. It's the reason I'm an atheist. Because the only thing concrete is the past; not the present, the future, or God."

Roppi immediately smiled. "You are eons above the rest of your species."

"Ropp—"

"No, you are! You're so impressive." Roppi chuckled. "I think if you met a god, they would be interested in you."

"Where did that come from? I don't understand what you're saying."

Roppi smiled in adoration. "You're amazing, that's all you need to understand."

"…Um…okay. What does that have to do with comparing me?"

"Nothing. Just take the compliment."

Izaya glowered as Roppi munched on a french-fry.

"As for comparing you, I'm not comparing you as a person. I'm comparing events that I'm able to do a comparison to. It's not like I'm thinking about how your dicks smaller than the last guy I fucked."

Izaya smiled but his eyes were not smiling.

"I'm _not_ thinking about that. I'm not. If anything, you're the best guy for body compatibility I've met—other than a god. No one I've been with has gotten me to the points you have."

"There are children present, Roppi."

"That's why I'm using big words they won't understand." Roppi took another drink of water.

Izaya didn't know how to retort.

"Anyway, there's no point to doing comparisons because there's nothing to compare. I like you so just accept that."

"But—"

"No buts. Just accept it."

"Saying things like, 'I'm with you now so the past doesn't matter' is an improper thing to say, Roppi-chan. The past is the reason you're so willing to bail out after every fight we have."

"I'm not saying that." Roppi drank more water. "You're right, that is improper to say. That's something a person would say to a possessive, micromanaging S.O. Or a person who still visits her exes and says 'we're just friends'. That's not what I'm saying or what I'm doing with you. I'm just saying, I'm not comparing you to any of my past loves because you're not them. You're you. You're Orihara Izaya so I will treat you accordingly. I won't treat you like I did Horatio, Barak, or even Anubis. I—"

Roppi's eyes stretched wide and he immediately fell quiet.

Izaya cocked a brow. "What?"

Roppi grabbed his hood and pulled it over his head. He grabbed the furry hem and pulled it down to hide his face.

"What's wrong with having a god as—"

"Shut up! Don't say it!"

"Oi, don't yell."

Roppi clenched his teeth as he slunk down into his seat. Tsuki looked up at him with confusion. Hibiya just stared. Izaya could see how red the mermaid's face was despite the coat.

"What wrong, Roppi?" Izaya asked, genuinely confused.

"Izaya, never repeat what you just heard. Not even in thought. Just forget I said anything, please."

"Why?"

"Because Anubis could be listening. When you say a god's name, it attracts their attention. So just don't—Forget I said anything."

Izaya just stared. Slowly, gears started turning. That was an unnatural response for someone who had once been lovers. If he was worried about being heard by said lover, then it's possible Roppi either lied about being with Anubis or…

 ** _'His love for Anubis was unrequited…?'_**

Roppi put his hands over his face and rubbed them up and down.

 ** _'Unrequited and yet he speaks his praise to this very day.'_** Izaya glanced down at Roppi's neck—at the black ribbon choker. **_'Even wearing a symbol to represent the deity.'_** Izaya's eyes narrowed. **_'He's still in love with Anubis, isn't he?'_**

"Oi, Roppi—"

"Ah, so this is the famous Hachimenroppi."

Izaya looked up to the new voice. A blue-haired teen with a wicked grin walked up to their table. He was followed closely by two boys—one with brown hair and cat ears on his head and the other someone Izaya recognized as Ryuugamine Mikado.

Roppi pushed his hood up and looked over. He tilted his head slightly in question. "And you might be…?"

The blue-haired boy smiled. "I'm—"

"Hello, Aoba-kun. Mikado-kun." Izaya smiled at the boys. "What are you doing here?"

'Aoba' immediately glared at Izaya.

"Sorry to interrupt your meal." Mikado said hastily, "We saw you through the window and Aoba-kun wanted to talk to you, er Hachimen-san so…"

"Ah? Does he have an interest in Roppi-chan?"

Aoba grinned. "The whole of the Dollars has an interest in him. Especially since your porno dropped."

Izaya's smile fell and he stared at him with tad bit wider eyes. "Porno?"

Aoba grinned smugly as he pulled out his phone. "Yeah, it's all over the Dollars site. The link got deleted by the admin, but everyone's been talking about it."

"Eh, she posted it?" Roppi said, grabbing Aoba's phone.

"What? Wait, you _knew_ about this? What is he talking about?" Izaya looked at Roppi.

"Oh, your sisters were videotaping us when we fucked on the dining table."

Izaya's fist came down to hit the table. A quick glance up showed it was out of surprise, not rage by his facial expression.

"You knew and failed to mention that _why_?" Izaya growled.

"You said your sisters have always peeped on you, so you don't care if they see you like that. Besides, it would have ruined the mood. You were really determined to do it and I'm not against an audience, so it was no nevermind to me."

"And you didn't stop to think that it would be a nevermind to me?"

"But you said—"

"I said I don't care if they peep on me because they always do that. I never said I liked video evidence of anything I do. Especially not posted on the internet for anyone to see."

Roppi shrugged. "I figured you're just as twisted as your sisters. I mean, they had to have learned incest from somewh—"

"I'm going to shut that implication down right now. I _did not_ lay a hand on my sisters. They're 9 years my junior. I am _not_ a pedophile."

"Wouldn't be surprised if you were, you sick freak." Aoba sneered.

Izaya glared at him.

"…My apologies." Roppi said while slightly panting, turning the phone off and handing it back to Aoba, however he never broke eye contact with Izaya. "I don't mean to tarnish your name."

"Then think before you speak. Please and thank you."

"I'm sorry."

Izaya scoffed and rolled his eyes. He then let out a heavy sigh as he pulled out his own phone. He began typing away furiously. "I know you grew up in savage, uncivilized times, Roppi. But the human race is not a bunch of barbarians anymore. You should mind the idea of someone watching you have sex."

"Probably should but I don't." Roppi cleared his throat then grabbed his water again. He finished it off.

"That's not right."

"When have I ever claimed to be right?"

"You should care more." Izaya glared up at him. "You go on and on about dignity and pride. You do realize that half a million people could have already seen your naked body on the internet because of this one video, right?"

"That doesn't bother me."

"How does that not bother you?"

"Honey, I lost my virginity in a gangrape. Nothing really bothers me, other than piss and shit. And pubic hair. And smegma. Other than that, I'm pretty open to anything."

Izaya just stared at him.

"You lost your virginity in a gangbang?" The cat-boy asked, looking at him wide-eyed. "That's hardcore!"

Roppi's eyes narrowed. "Calm down, flesh-suit. Let's not pop a boner in an open restaurant."

Neko glared and called indignantly. "I'm not getting excited!"

"Yeah, sure." Roppi swallowed hard then cleared his throat again.

"Um, are you okay?" Mikado asked, looking at Roppi with worry. "You seem to be getting pale."

"Am I?" Roppi chuckled. "Hey, Izaya, where's the bathroom?"

"How should I know?" Izaya glowered and looked up at Mikado. "So, you deleted the links to that video?"

"Well, yes." Mikado glanced at the ground, awkwardly scratching his cheek. "We can't have something like that on the Dollar's site."

"Did you watch any of it?"

Mikado jolted and his eyes went wide. "N-n-no, no, no!" He waved his hands wildly. "I read the text and immediately removed it! But um, she posted a link to NicoNicoDouga. So, I can't get rid of it there."

Izaya scoffed. "I see."

He returned to his phone and began typing away furiously.

Then his eyes widened when he heard Roppi puke. The informant he looked up. Roppi had taken his empty cup and put it to his mouth. The cup was now filled with tan vomit as he filled it with what was digested of his burger.

"Are you alright?" Izaya asked.

Roppi shook his head. "Bathroom. Now."

"The bathroom is down the hall!" A waitress, having been serving a table nearby, rushed over and pointed.

Roppi nodded, put a hand over his mouth—put the cup on the table—and pushed to his feet. He shoved past Aoba and the cat boy and rushed to the water closet.

"Is he alright?" The waitress asked.

"I don't know." Izaya stated. "He was fine a moment ago."

"I'll check on him." Aoba stated.

He didn't wait for a reply as he rushed after the raven.

Izaya put a napkin over the tarnished cup. He looked at the waitress. "I'm sorry about that. Can we get the check please?"

"O-of course!" She sped off again.

Izaya went back to his phone, this time looking up a phone number for a cab. He pulled out his wallet and looked up for the waitress.

"Maybe it was food poisoning." Mikado said sheepishly.

"I feel fine."

"Well, he's not…human," He lowered his voice when he said that, "it might have a different effect on him."

Izaya looked at the babies. "How are you two feeling?"

"I-I-I'm okay…" Tsukishima stated.

"I'm fine!" Hibiya beamed, not caring of his mother's turmoil as he continued to eat his food.

Aoba returned before the waitress, Roppi trailing behind him. The mermaid was hugging himself and shaking near violently.

"Oi, what's wrong?" Izaya asked, standing and reaching out to guide Roppi.

"Don't touch me! Don't!"

Izaya retracted his hands. The mermaid clenched his teeth as he sat down in the booth. His face was pale while his eyes were closed. He was huffing hard.

"My medication wore off…" Roppi stated.

"Medication?" Izaya cocked a brow.

"My _medication_ , Izaya." Roppi glared up at him. "The one that was supposed to last 3 months but since I took Aspirin…"

Izaya eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Oh…Oh no."

Roppi chuckled as he rested his head on the polish wood of the booth.

"How long does the _side effects_ take before _that_ appear?" Izaya asked.

"30 minutes. Maybe less."

Izaya nodded. "There's a hotel with soundproof rooms twenty minutes from here. We can rest there and—"

"Wai', we leaving?!" Hibiya yelled.

"Yes, yes." Izaya said, "Mommy is sick so—"

"But I don't wanna leave! I'm no done eating!"

"We can get it to go then, okay?"

"No! I wanna eat! I'm hungry!"

"Hibiya!"

"NO! I wanna STAY!"

Izaya's expression twisted with annoyance. **_'That's so not cute right now, Hibiya.'_**

"Hey," Aoba said, grinning slightly. "We have a car, so we can take your friend while you stay with the kids. Meet up with you later."

Izaya glared, smiling slightly. "You expect me to believe something like that?"

"I-I'll be with them!" Mikado said quickly. "So, nothing bad with happen to Hachimen-san."

Izaya scoffed.

"That's fine." Roppi stood.

"Oi—" Izaya started.

"I don't really have time to worry about the little shit here." Roppi glared at the informant.

Roppi clicked his tongue in irritancy. But he knew Roppi was right.

Izaya let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. Mikado-kun," Izaya looked at the teen, "Take him somewhere secluded and away from other people. And with water. Lots of water. Text me where you're at and I'll come as soon as we're done here."

Mikado nodded. "Yes, okay."

With that, Roppi headed to the door.

Aoba grinned down at Izaya, riding on some form of superiority trip that Izaya didn't care to understand. "We'll take care of her. Don't worry."

"Hurt him and I'll destroy you."

Aoba just chuckled. He then turned and followed after Mikado with Neko on his heels.


	29. Chapter 29

On the sidewalk, Roppi stumbled. His vision was starting to blur, and his feet felt heavy. As if filled with lead. His shoes were hurting him. His pants were too tight. The air was so thick…

"Hey, this way." Aoba grabbed Roppi's arm and guided him to a blue van.

Roppi felt nausea from the touch but he couldn't puke. There was nothing left to puke. He knew that much.

"Hey, who's that?" someone said.

"Isn't that Orihara's woman?"

"We'll explain later." Aoba stated. "Just get in the car. Wake Houjou up and tell him to move up a seat. She's sitting in the back."

Roppi wasn't paying attention. He couldn't focus on much but the way his body was feeling. His legs were starting to burn. His feet felt like they were getting stabbed. He leaned against the closest thing to him, which was the black-haired boy with the piercing blue eyes. The boy wrapped his arms around Roppi to try and keep him stable. The boy was quite shorter than Roppi. His face was pressing against Roppi's chest. The mermaid didn't care. He couldn't care. His body was so hot. Uncomfortably hot. He needed water.

"Hey, look at that, Mikado-san made it to second base!"

"He-he-he was falling over!"

The teens chuckled. "We all saw the video. We know she's a girl."

"Eh? Bu-but, there's nothing here for—"

"Don't pretend you didn't watch it too."

"I didn't watch it!"

Roppi saw the flat floor of a van. He leaned forward, nearly falling on it as his hands slammed against the thin carpet. Roppi climbed into the car and flopped down. He had exerted so much energy. He had to rest for a moment. He had his eyes closed and was panting heavily.

Someone grabbed his legs and moved them closer to his body. The van door then closed. The side door closed a moment later then the car turned on.

"Head back to home base."

"Got it."

"So, what's wrong with her?"

"Her face is so pale."

"Was she fed some weird sex drug or something?"

"Not a drug…" Roppi gasped, "Not a drug. My medication…it ran out. It ran out, so I'm tur-turning back."

"Turning back?"

"Turning back into what?"

Roppi groaned. He pressed his hands underneath him and pushed himself up. He had no strength in his legs, so he only got his chest off the floor. But that was fine. Like this, he was able to see the boys he was with. He looked at the blue-eyed one. The one Izaya seemed to trust the most.

"Hey," Roppi said through heavy breathes. "Help me strip."

The brunette jolted, and his eyes stretched. "Eh? Wh-wh-what? Why?"

"Don't be such a virgin." Roppi growled as he pushed himself up more. He sat on his knees, leaning against the side of the car. His head touched the glass window. It was cool to the touch. So nice… "Keep your pecker in your pants and get over here."

"Eh?!"

"Lucky! Mikado, you're so lucky!"

Roppi struggled to get off his coat but he figured he would try while the boys congratulated their friend.

"So, you're going to cheat on Orihara-san?"

Roppi looked up at the boy who said such a statement. He was pointing a phone at him, obviously taking a video.

Roppi chuckled, sneering at the device. "Sorry, my cherry-snatching days have been over for a long time now."

"Eh, then why—"

Roppi glared at 'Mikado'. "Are you going to fucking help me or not?"

"Eh? Eh? Bu-but that's something—"

Roppi scoffed in disgust. "Oi, any of you horny fucks. I don't care anymore. Just _one of you_ help me fucking strip!"

There was a brief silence. Then: "Fuck, I'll do it."

A boy with brown hair wearing a white hoody knelt before Roppi. He sneered before grabbing Roppi's coat. Roppi shrugged it off and the boy pulled it down his arms. He dropped it on the floor.

"Oi," Roppi huffed, "Is there a towel or something?"

The teen pulled Roppi's shirt up. The raven tried to work with him, but he couldn't lift his arms. The boy pulled on the sleeve and tugged it over his hand. One arm became free. Then his head. Then the fabric rolled down the other arm.

"E~h? That's not flat-chested." The brunette stated. "So, you're really a hermaphrodite."

"You saw the video, didn't you?" Roppi chuckled, resting his head on window. He rolled his body, so his back touched the cold plaster.

"Yeah, but I thought it was a trick of the light with your a-cups."

Roppi chuckled again, glaring up at the ceiling despite smiling. He grabbed his belt buckle and began undoing it. "Sorry to disappoint. You'll still be able to see a cunt. So, relish, Sir Virgin."

The teen glowered. "What makes you think _I'm_ a virgin?"

He pushed Roppi's hands out of the way and undid the belt. He popped the button and pulled the zipper. The next moment, he was pulling the jeans down. He put his hands under Roppi's rump and lifted the mermaid up.

"You're really light."

"For now…" Roppi muttered.

The boy pulled the jeans down. Roppi wasn't wearing underwear so his feminine folds were quickly exposed. The boy tugged the jeans until they were around Roppi's ankles. He paused to untie the mermaid's boots. One came off, followed by his sock and the leg of the jean. The other boot, sock and pant leg came off next.

Roppi was finally completely naked.

"Towel." Roppi muttered, folding his legs down to keep his vagina from being visible to the camera. "Or a blanket."

"Here."

Roppi was handed a green towel. The raven splayed it out in front of him. He then slunk to the floor and turned around. He lied his legs only over the towel, his torso curling to rest on the carpet.

A wave of pain struck Roppi's spine. His eyes stretched wide, his back arched, and he gasped loudly. He then groaned followed by a coughed, tilting his head down to the carpet. The pain abated. He let out a moan that sounded oddly sexual before falling limp against the floor.

His legs began to shake—shaking hard enough to thump against the floor repeatedly.

The relief was brief. Pain encased his spine again then reached down to the bones in his leg. He called out, arching his back once again. His shark fangs popped in his mouth, casting over his human teeth. An inhuman hiss escaped his throat. The boy who stripped him and Mikado backed away quickly.

"Oi, oi, what's she doing?"

Roppi chuckled, his red eyes flooded with pain. "You all…have seen the video…right? The fountain…one _ugh_! I'm-I'm not a human, hee. These legs are just…just a transfor—GAAH—mation! They wer-weren't going to last—AAAAAGGH!"

Roppi's chest slammed against the floor, his hands still planted on the ground so his elbows jutted up to the ceiling. His kicked his legs slightly. His feet slid against the towel. A moment later, his knees lost their shape. His legs straightened since the support was gone.

"What's—dude, her knees just turned to jelly or something!"

"They…melted…" Roppi said between gasped. "…To-to my…spine…all the bones…to my spine…"

Roppi called out in pain, his voice raising an octave with each call as he spine popped. The bone shifted under his skin. It was visible to the boys who stared wide-eyed in horror.

Roppi legs turned to jelly. There was no bone to be had except for in his feet. The feet didn't last, however. There was a sickening cracking sound follows by a wet _shlip_ as if someone was separated wet meat. A thin layer of flesh—so thin it was near transparent—spread away from the feet that disconnected from the end of the legs and fell with a thump against the towel.

Strange bumps began forming under all the skin of Roppi's legs. While that happened, the seam of his legs fused together, like two slimes joining together to become one. His legs disappeared, along with his butt crack. The spine shifted under the flesh once again but this time it seemed to be moving. Moving downwards into that lump of flesh.

Roppi called out again, but he was far too exhausted to get loud. He pressed his fingers together then apart. Webbing formed in between each digit. Flaps of skin raised around his neck, barely visible under the black choker. He began to gasp as the flaps flared frantically. His ears expanded, more webbing developing but his black locks hid where it connected. His flesh began to glisten with sweat.

The strange bumps along his legs gave away to black scales. The layer of skin that replaced his feet became dark until it was a transparent black. It stretched more and more until it turned into a fin of a fish. Along his hips, bones stabbed out of his flesh, dragging with it layers of skin. The skin formed into appendages as fins sprouted along their edges.

Finally, Roppi fell limp against the carpet. Sweat coated his entire body. His detached feet began to dissolve away into a grotesque puddle. The gills on his neck flared desperately.

"W-w-water…please…" Roppi panted.

"U-u-um," Mikado fumbled through his back. "He-h-here."

He held a bottle of water out to Roppi. The raven's hands were shaking bad. His hand came around it and crushed the plastic. The cap flew off like a bullet while water poured forth. The mermaid brought the leakage to his neck quickly and covered it in water.

"I can't…control my strength…like this…after a…transformation…I won't touch…any of…you…"

Roppi rested his head on the carpet as he eyes closed. He gasped hard, his torso rising and falling with his deep breathes. His gills flared still.

"Is he done?"

"Yeah. I think so."

"Alright." The car turned back on.

Roppi wasn't aware the car had been parked. He couldn't bring himself to care too terribly though. His head was blurry. Exhaustion encased his being and made his eyelids heavy. He wanted to sleep. He was having trouble breathing but he just wanted to pass out.

"…Hey…I think…I'm going to faint…" Roppi muttered. "My gills…I need water…"

"Um, here."

A gentle hand slid under Roppi's chin and lifted his head. His cheek rested against jeans and a meaty thigh. Plastic crinkled and water touched Roppi's gill.

"You…don't have to con…stantly pour…so long as…my gills are…n't dry…I'll be…fine…" Roppi's voice faded with his consciousness.

* * *

Izaya stood before an abandoned three-story building. Two hours had passed since Roppi was taken by Mikado and Aoba. The informant had been stuck at the diner for an hour because of Hibiya's tantrum. He had been sent a video through Mikado's number of Roppi's transformation, but he couldn't watch it until he was alone. So, he had spent all his time contacting Tsukumoya Shinichi and paying him extra to get rid of the sex video trail. The secret informant had already seen it and made a few annoying compliments and observations, but he did as asked.

He then contacted Shinra about buying more hydrocodone off of him. Shinra asked a lot of questions about Roppi's transformation. Izaya took the liberty to forward the video he had gotten from Mikado to the underground doctor for a free subscription of hydrocodone.

Finally, Izaya got Hibiya and Tsukishima ready to leave. He then took the toddlers to Shinra's place. He got the hydro's and quickly explained the situation to the lovers. Celty offered to look after the kids while he went and got Roppi. Izaya appreciated that and gave the courier ¥50,000 ($500).

Now, the informant stood in front of the Dollars 'home base'. Mikado gave him the address and Izaya took a cab there. He walked in through the empty doorway. Aoba's crew were on the first floor, sitting on a couch and metal boxes while playing on their phones. Mikado and Aoba were nowhere to be found. They looked up to Izaya's presence.

"Where's Roppi?" Izaya asked.

They glowered at him. "Upstairs, top floor."

Izaya went to the stone steps without another word. He went up to the top and was greeted with the sight of Aoba and Mikado sitting around a tarp. Roppi lied on said tarp, hair and skin glistening with water. There was a wet rag over his neck and his eyes were closed.

"Is he alright?" Izaya asked.

Mikado looked over at him. "He's still sleeping. He fainted in the car."

Izaya nodded.

"Where are the kids?" Aoba asked.

Izaya ignored him. Instead, he knelt by Roppi. He put his hand on the mermaid's shoulder.

"Roppi." He gave him a gentle shake.

There was no response.

"Oi, Roppi."

The mermaid groaned.

"Roppi, wake up."

"I'll break your fucking nose."

"Wake up already."

An inhuman growl echoed in Roppi's throat. One eye was forced open to look up at Izaya.

"Hello, crotch. Cuz that's what I wanna see when I first wake up."

Izaya glowered before he tucked his knees under his rump and sat back on his haunches.

"No, wait. Come back~! Let me see the penis."

Izaya stared at him with an obvious 'what the fuck?' look.

Roppi chuckled. "I get super horny after a transformation."

"…Why?"

"Pain turns me on." Roppi propped himself up on his elbows.

Izaya couldn't respond to that.

"I'm joking. Halfly. If this place wasn't so echoing, I'd suck your dick right he—"

"Stop that." Izaya put his hand over Roppi's mouth. "There are teenagers present."

Roppi smiled under his hand.

Izaya glowered. But removed his hand. "The kids are with Celty-san. I've brought you some more hydro's."

"I don't wanna."

"…It's not like you can go out like that."

"But I don't want legs right now. I'm content like this."

"There's no way I can sneak you all the way to Shinjuku like this."

"You did it went you moved me to the warehouse."

"You were in a crate then."

"Not the second time, when we were coming from Shinra's place. Just get me a wheelchair and drape a blanket over me. Or get Celty to take me to Shinjuku."

Izaya glowered.

Roppi chuckled and shifted towards the informant. "What's wrong, Izaya? You want me to have legs? Don't want to fuck me like this?"

"That has nothing to do with—"

"You know, my pheromones flux with my transformation." Roppi smiled at him with confidence as he brought his face close enough to brush noses. He lifted the end of his fin, the transparent black flesh billowing beautifully. "Can you feel it, Izaya? The bestial urge to pin me down and make me your woman? A carnal, instinctual lust to ravish me without a care for consequences?"

Izaya didn't respond. But his heartbeat elevated. He could hear it in his ears. He wasn't sure if it was out of rage or excitement and he was scared of either or being the case. The informant turned his head away.

Roppi giggled and leaned in closer, turning his head as well. "Don't you want me?"

"I'm going to gag you if you keep talking."

Roppi licked his lips. "Kinky. Makes me wet just thinking about it."

Izaya scoffed and rolled his eyes. "There's a hotel on the other side of town. Sakuraya and Shitsuo are already inhabiting my room, but the bathtubs big enough you can rest your full length in there with ease."

Roppi immediately frowned. He scoffed in pure disgust and turned away from Izaya. "And like that, you ruin it."

The raven turned his back on Izaya. "If you don't want to sprout legs then the alternative is to let you rest in a body of water. Since it's so late, I won't be able to order you a tank for the warehouse. Unless you want to sleep in a tote like before, then you can stay at Celty and Shinra's place. If you don't, that leaves the hotel. Have you decided about meeting Sakuraya and Shitsuo?"

"I don't want to think about my kids when I'm this horny. That's going to give me a complex I _don't_ want."

"Well, quit being horny."

"Quit being a sociopath."

Izaya glowered.

"Not that easy, now is it?"

"Horny and sociopath have no correlation."

Roppi scoffed. "Fine. Quit being a cunt."

Izaya chuckled although his face showed his annoyance. "Roppi, you can't stay like this."

"Ain't that fucking obvious?"

"And you can't stay here. If you don't want to turn back, then we need to move you somewhere away from prying eyes."

"Stop talking like I'm some freak that needs to hide from the world!" Roppi looked over his shoulder with a glare. "I ain't your fucking pet!"

"I never claimed you were!"

"You're acting awfully like it, you little shit!" Roppi turned around, sitting up. "I decide when I sprout legs and when I remain as a mermaid! It's my fucking body and I'll do what I want with it! And you," Roppi poked Izaya's chest, "Don't get to fucking tell me what I can or can't do with my body!"

"Why are you jumping to this conclusion all of a sudden?! I'm not trying to control you!"

"You're doing a shit job proving otherwise!"

"Read my lips! You can't stay here!"

"But staying in a hotel with a pair of strangers is a better alternative!"

"They're not strangers! They're your children!"

"Children then were snatched from me before I could even name them! I don't know them at all! I don't—I don't know the color of their eyes! The sound of their voice! I…never heard their first words. Never saw their first step. And you! You want me to just stop on by to _rest_ in the same room as them! You inconsiderate, pompous, miserable fucking cree—"

Izaya put his lips over Roppi's. The mermaid's eyes stretched wide, but he didn't pull away. The kiss was chaste and held no passion. It was just meant to silence him. Izaya separated and let out a heavy sigh.

"Do your emotions flux as well?" Izaya shifted to sit on his rump, propping his elbow on his knee. "Your acting a bit dramatic, like when your period started. Don't call my misogynistic but this is a bit sudden of you. You _did_ just wake up."

"…Fuck off. You're not allowed to be that smooth."

Izaya chuckled in confidence.

"You can't keep silencing me with kisses!" Roppi yelled. "I'm not some dame you can swoon with your poison lips!"

"It's been working so far."

"Fuck you!" Roppi's insult was laced with soft laughter.

Izaya chuckled as well.

"…Um…" Mikado started.

The two adults looked at the teen.

Mikado awkwardly stood. "Excuse us."

Aoba just chuckled as he tapped the screen of his phone—which had been pointed at the two just moments ago—and pocketed the device.

"Why does everyone record us?" Roppi glowered. "Seriously, are you that famous?"

"To the Dollars I am."

"Why, cuz you started it?"

"I didn't start the Dollars. That's actually the founder and leader." Izaya pointed at Mikado.

Roppi cocked a brow, scrutinizing the doe-eyed teen with skepticism. "Doesn't act much like a leader. He's an eyesore in comparison to Hector."

Mikado's eyes widened as he stared at Roppi with obvious hurt.

"He's still evolving." Izaya smiled happily at the mermaid. "Given time, I'm sure he'll develop into something quite impressive."

Roppi just stared at Mikado. He sized him up, looking him up and down. Then he made eye contact with him. Stared him down, questioned his muster. Mikado held his gaze without blinking.

Roppi glanced to the side, then smiled in approval. "I think you're right. I might just keep track of his growth then."

Izaya grinned.

"Who's the other kid then? He seems like a shitty schemer." Roppi looked at Aoba.

"That is Kuronuma Aoba. He's definitely scheming but I don't care to know what."

Roppi cocked a brow. "You don't care?"

"He's not that interesting." Izaya said. "He pines me as his rival, but he hasn't done anything extravagant."

Aoba immediately glared at Izaya.

Roppi stared at him with incredulous disbelief. "Him? As your rival? I think Shizuo is a more worthy rival then some soft-skinned brat."

Aoba's glare narrowed with absolute hatred at the two. Izaya just grinned at that. Roppi developed a small smile.

The blue-haired boy hmphed and turned around. He went down the stairs in a huff.

"Um, let us know what you plan to do, Orihara-san." Mikado said. "I mean, you don't have to tell us your grand plan, but at least let us know if you're leaving."

"Of course." Izaya smiled. "Thank you, Mikado-kun. You were very helpful today."

The boy nodded before going downstairs as well.

"He's cute." Roppi smiled, leaning against Izaya. "If we ever do a threesome, we should invite him."

Izaya closed his eyes in disappointment. "Why? Just why, Roppi-san?"

The informant heard the echo of the footsteps stop for a moment before they went down the stairs more rushed.

"Cuz you make the greatest faces when I say stupid shit." The mermaid stated.

"At least you know it's stupid."

"Course I do." Roppi leaned back to lie on the wet tarp. "You're so vanilla, there's no way you'd do something that interesting."

Izaya glared at him. "Don't call me vanilla."

"I'll stop calling you vanilla when you prove me wrong."

Izaya rolled his eyes. He then lied down on the dry surface of the concrete to be by Roppi. "So, what do you want to do, Roppi?"

"Have sex."

"Besides that."

"What else is there to do?"

"Your fin, Roppi-san. You can't stay in this abandoned building with a bunch of hormonally imbalanced teenagers."

"Guess that's true." Roppi reached up and wrapped his arms around Izaya's neck. "Where can we go? I seriously don't want to sprout legs right now. The transformation from legs to fin hurts like a bitch and so does the shift from fin to legs. Don't think I can handle two in one day. Oh, just so you know, if I had gotten hydro's in my system before my change, it would have prolonged my transformation."

"So, we should keep hydro and aspirin around the house from now on. Or we could just skip the hydro middle man and get you on Morphine."

"Does morphine sprout female genitals?"

"Yup."

"Hm. You know, we _could_ just continue on as a gay couple."

"…We could."

"Are you against sleeping with me if I'm a man?"

"Don't know, honestly. Never tried it."

"You've never slept with a guy?"

"No."

"Do you want to try it?"

Izaya shrugged. "Don't know."

"…Are you scared of getting penetrated?"

"I'm not fond of the idea."

"Well, that's not fair."

"That's why you should just remain female. I'm not comfortable with being penetrated."

Roppi grumbled. "You know, I _am_ a man, Izaya. I do have manly urges. I want to hold the person I lo—like too."

Izaya caught that shift in statement. "That can be a topic for discussion later. I can phone a friend to move you somewhere else. I'm not sure where. If you were okay with meeting Psyche, I could say you could stay with the Awakusu-kai…Actually, never mind that. That's a lot of testosterone in one area."

"It's not like my pheromones have a succubus effect over them. If it's just one night, then there's no problem."

"But you said that sailors would jump off their boats to be with mermaids."

"Yeah, but those mermaids would be tailing the boats for days on end. It's not like they showed up, said hi, and the guys popped boners on them."

"The pheromones were prominent through the water?"

"Yup."

…Hm."

"So, theoretically, I could actually stay here for the night. But I don't want to. Teens are more likely to act on their instincts than adults. And you're right about the hormonally imbalanced part. That's a little dangerous for my pussy."

"Tact, Roppi-chan."

"That's a waste of time and effort."

"It's really not."

Roppi shrugged.

"What about your flotation bladder problem? You had some disease or something."

"Swim bladder disease. Yeah, I don't know if I still have it. I made sure to eat a lot of peas the last few months. And I took some salt baths, so I may be alright now." Roppi rolled on his back and held his stomach, looking down. "I don't look bloated anymore, so I think I'm gucci."

Izaya nodded. "It would be best to have Shinra check you out. I'll contact courier-san and request a lift to her place. Once Shinra okay's you, we'll figure out accommodations for the night. I'll give her a call. You stay here."

"Koy. Oh, grab my clothes for me. I don't' know what the kids did with them. But my phones in my coat and I'm bored."

"Okay."

Izaya went down the stairs.

* * *

 **[Um, hello. I'm new to this site but I was wondering if anyone could help me find Heiwajima Shizuo.]**

 **[Why do you need him?]**

 **[If you're looking for a fight, you're going to lose.]**

 **[I'm not looking for a fight. I need to talk to him. It's quite important.]**

 **[I saw him at the south side earlier today.]**

 **[He was by the Sunshine Building an hour ago.]**

 **[I saw him by central park a few minutes ago. He's with that guy with the dread-locks and the blond chick.]**

 **[Thank you very much.]**

* * *

Shizuo checked his phone. He knew Izaya had Shizuo's number, so he had hoped Roppi would get the number from the flea. However, that was a stupid expectation. Like hell Izaya would pass his number over to Roppi. He was going to make sure the lady never talked to Shizuo again, if he had anything to say for it. Whatever Izaya's plans were, Shizuo wasn't supposed to have a part in it so he wasn't going to let the bartender get in the way of that.

Shizuo clenched his teeth. Izaya was planning something. He was going to use that poor woman for something vile and disgusting. He had Roppi completely wrapped around his finger. And with kids in the picture, Roppi will have no choice but to follow Izaya's pace.

Shizuo had to do something. He had to try and make her see the truth. Shizuo wasn't her son. Izaya had tricked her to get her under his thumb.

He had to help her. He had to get her away from Izaya before her situation became unredeemable. He had to—

"Excuse me."

Shizuo, Tom, and Vorona looked over their shoulders. Standing before them was a blond man that looked disgustingly familiar to them. After all, he had to the same build as Shizuo, with blond hair and brown eyes like Shizuo. And they had the same exact face. Shizuo's eyes widened—it was no different than looking in a mirror!

"Are you Heiwajima Shizuo?" The man asked.

"…I am. Um, do I know you?" Shizuo turned around fully.

"Not officially. This is our first meeting but I'm sure you know who I am."

Something inside Shizuo told him he did. In the depths of his instincts, he knew he recognized this person as a relative. As a family member.

But that wasn't possible.

"I'm sorry. I don't know who you are." Shizuo said.

The blonde's eyes widened with genuine surprise. "Um…I…I'm Minigawa Shitsuo. Son of Minig—um, well, I'm um, the adoptive son of Minigawa Todoro. My biological parents are Nanasaki Yoroshi and Hachimenroppi."

Shizuo's eyes widened. "Hachimen—Then you must be him! The one Hachimen-san's mistook me for!"

The blonde's eyes widened.

"Listen, your mother, Hachimenroppi!" Shizuo rushed forward so that he was almost uncomfortably close to the stranger. "She thinks I'm her son, and now I understand why. We look a lot alike. She's convinced I'm you. Um, if we meet Hachimen-san together, then I'm sure she'll finally understand her mistake."

Shitsuo didn't say anything. His expression changed from confusion to anger to pity, then sorrow. He cast his gaze to the ground as he rung his hands in front of himself.

"I um…I saw the video. Of our mother's breakdown in that Russian Sushi place."

"Our—no, she's not my mother. My mother is Heiwajima Namiko."

Shitsuo brows furrowed in sorrow. For a moment, Shizuo was sure he was going to cry.

Then the blond bowed deeply, making a perfect 45-degree angle.

"Please, Heiwajima Shizuo, I beg of you! Recant your statement towards Hachimenroppi!"

"What—no! I'm not going to lie to her!"

"Then just humor her! Please, I beg of you!"

"Why?"

"Because of what you have done, Hachimenroppi is scared to meet any other child Orihara-san has found. Because you rejected her, she's rejected all of us. My brother, Sakuraya, he—we need our mother. After everything we have been through, we need her help. We want to meet our mother but because of you…"

Shitsuo looked up, glaring up at Shizuo with hatred. Shizuo's brows rose in surprise.

"You ruined everything! And the only way to make this right is for you to recant your statement! Humor Hachimenroppi and let her…believe you're her son. Please?"

Shizuo felt guilt flood his chest. He had to admit he felt bad. He didn't mean to hurt Roppi to the point that he would be scared of meeting his children again. It was easy to paste together that Roppi's children were stolen from him. He must have lived a horrible life for quite some time for this blond to be the same age as Shizuo. Roppi obviously had a trauma that was more profound than the bartender could understand. And Shizuo had single-handedly shaken that poor woman's foundation.

"I'm sorry." Shizuo said. "But I can't lie to her. That would be cruel."

Shitsuo clenched his teeth. "If she believes it is the truth then it is not a lie!"

"That's a twisted way of looking at things!"

"I know it is! But it is not fair that we have to suffer for your mistake!"

"It's not a mistake! I'm not her son!"

"You are still to blame for this!"

"I can accept that, but I can't lie to her about something like this!"

Shitsuo clenched his teeth hard as he stood upright. "Accepting your fault does not rectify anything!"

Shizuo clenched his teeth, glaring at the blond. "I'm aware of that!"

"I demand that you take proper responsibility for your actions! We should not have to suffer because of your insensitivity!"

Shizuo reached out and grabbed the chest of Shitsuo's shirt. The blonde's eyes stretched wide as he was tugged forward.

"I'm aware I hurt her. But I'm not the one you should be pointing your aggression towards. Izaya's the piece of shit that convinced her I was her kid in the first place."

"Orihara-san? Orihara-san has been trying to help us! He's been trying to convince Roppi-san to meet with us!"

"Bullshit he has! Izaya's not going to help you without a price!"

"Unhand me already!" Shitsuo pulled on Shizuo's hands.

The bartender growled before pushing Shitsuo away. The blond fixed his shirt, rubbing his chest.

"I'll fix your damn problem. But I am _not_ going to lie to her. She's suffered enough without tricking her."

Shitsuo just glared. He clenched his teeth hard. "If you can do so without…lying to…her then do so."

"Don't tell me what to do." Shizuo glared at him. "I'm doing this to right my wrong, not to do as you say."

An inhuman growl rumbled in Shitsuo's throat. "You are a selfish—"

Shitsuo's shirt was grabbed once again. Shizuo tugged the blond forward and slammed his cranium against Shitsuo's. His eyes stretched wide as his vision blurred. Shizuo let him go and he fell to his knees, holding his forehead.

"Go home." Shizuo growled. "I'll fix what I broke so get out of here."

With that, Shizuo turned around and walked away. Vorona followed immediately. Tom stared down at the felled blond for a moment longer then also followed. Shitsuo heard the man he didn't know make a comment of how calm Shizuo had responded but Shitsuo couldn't focus long enough to keep listening.

 ** _'Bastard…He's a bastard. How can he deny everything despite our resonance? He truly believes he's human? How can he be so blind? What did the Heiwajima's do to him in order to cause such a denial?'_**

Shitsuo blinded repeatedly, rubbing his forehead. His head still hurt.

 ** _'He's stronger than me, is he not? To headbutt should have hurt us both but he showed no sign of agony. Is he stronger or is he different? Did eating his umbilical cord cause some deformity to his nerves? How can he—'_**

"Are you alright, young man?"

Shitsuo looked through the gap between his hands to see an older gentleman with platinum hair holding his hand out to Shitsuo.

"Can you stand?"

"Um, yes." Shitsuo took the offer. The man helped the blond to his feet. "Please, excuse my unsightly appearance."

The man chuckled. "How formal. You don't see that in younger generations nowadays."

"Oh, um, please, excuse me."

"Oh, no, it is quite refreshing. Truly."

Shitsuo smiled. He glanced at the other individual, who stood behind this older man. A female with brown hair, glasses, and wearing a yellow dress stood with an emotionless face.

"Are you alright?" The older man asked. "Do you need medical attention?"

"Oh, no. I-I'm fine. Just…it is merely a headache…" Shitsuo glanced to the side.

The man nodded. "Is your home close to here? I would hate to send you off on your own in your state."

"Um…well, no. But I will be quite alright. The pain shall pass momentarily."

"You should never rule out a headache as a simple thing. In such a noisy city, such a thing can escalate to a migraine in minutes." The man smiled warmly. "Allow me to pay for a taxi, so you may return to your home quickly."

"Oh no! I could not possibly impose such a request!"

"You aren't imposing. I'm merely offering. I'm feeling quite generous right now."

Shitsuo chuckled. "How immoral."

The man chuckled as well. "Oh, where are my manner's. I didn't introduce myself." The man held his hand out. "I'm Yodojiri Jinnai. This is my assistant, Kujiragi Kasane."

"How do you do?" Shitsuo shook his hand. "I'm Minigawa Shitsuo."

"Minigawa? In relation to Minigawa Todoro?"

Shitsuo stiffened. He took his hand away and stepped back out of reflex.

"Oh, don't fear. Don't fear, Shitsuo-kun." Yodojiri said quickly. "I'm an informant of sorts so I know a little bit about everyone. I heard you and your brother ran away from home a couple months back—"

"Please do not tell Minigawa where we are!" Shitsuo bowed, his form beginning to shake. "Please!"

"Calm down, young man." Yodojiri's voice took on a soothing tone. "Rest assured, I won't say anything. For such pristine individuals to become this desperate…Minigawa must have done something terrible to you."

Shitsuo couldn't respond.

"If you would like," Yodojiri smiled down at Shitsuo kindly. "I know a few things about you, Minigawa Shitsuo. And I have a very decent idea of the situation your brother is in."

"Eh?" Shitsuo's eyes stretched wide. "What do you—"

"I know your brother is in truth a sister and may be carrying Minigawa-san's bastard."

Shitsuo felt the blood leave his face. "How do you—"

"Again, I am an informant of sorts. I would like the clarify, I didn't know you were Minigawa's child when I approached you. But I think it's a good thing I did. I can help you, you see."

"H-help me? How?"

"Have you decided on what you wanted to do with the baby?"

"…N-no…We um, we're not…"

"If you haven't aborted the child, then I can help you out of your situation."

"…How would you do that?"

Yodojiri smiled. "I can make your problems go away. You and your brother can live peacefully in whatever lifestyle you wish, as far away from Japan as you would like."

"I…we…haven't decided on aborting. Sakuraya is against it…"

"I wasn't talking about aborting. Nor was I fully implying just the baby."

Yodojiri leaned in close and his voice dropped low.

"I can make Minigawa disappear. As his only son's, you and your brother would be the benefactors to his estate and wealth. You'd be set for the rest of your life. And all I ask in return is the baby."

Shitsuo's eyes widened. "You want…why would you want the baby?"

Yodojiri smiled. "I'm old, you see. I squandered my youth and never settled down properly. But as my years catch up with me, I realize I'm leaving a legacy with no one to claim it. It's quite a lonely existence. If I can be of some aid to you while also finding a child to call my own, I think that would be killing two birds with one stone, don't you think?"

Shitsuo's gut was telling him something was wrong with this. Something didn't seem right. Completely ignoring the implication that 'disappear' could mean murder instead of prison, Shitsuo couldn't trust this situation. This man's eyes, it was no different than looking at a snake. Than looking at Orihara-san. They had the same gaze, the same deceitful glint in their eyes.

 ** _'But if Orihara-san was willing to be so kind, then maybe this man is also just being kind. He may have a deceitful nature, but Orihara-san…'_**

"Um…" Shitsuo started. "I-I would need to talk to Sakuraya about…something like this…"

"Of course, of course! Here, Kujiragi."

The woman reached into her over-sized handbag and pulled out a business card. She held it out to Shitsuo.

"When you've made up your mind, please, give me a call."

Shitsuo took the card.

"Have a good evening, Minigawa Shitsuo." Yodojiri waved good-bye, turned around, and walked away.

Shitsuo just watched him go.

"Here." Kujiragi handed money to Shitsuo. "For the taxi fair."

She then turned and followed after Yodojiri.

Shitsuo could only watch them leave as he stared at the card.

 ** _'Should I trust him? He seemed to have honest intentions. More honest than Orihara-san's…'_**

Shitsuo didn't know. He wasn't sure what he should do.

 ** _'Should I ask Orihara-san?'_**

Shitsuo's brows furrowed.

 ** _'Like I can trust him. No, this stranger seems like a safer bet for Sakuraya than Orihara-san…'_**


	30. Chapter 30

Izaya groaned as he walked up the stairs in his house. He was carrying his quite heavy mermaid bridal style, who had his arms wrapped around his neck. Celty had brought Tsukishima and Hibiya in for him. Izaya payed her promptly and she left. The two toddlers were now aimlessly wondering his apartment.

"You've gained quite a bit of weight since we first met." Izaya observed, huffing slightly.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Bad for my back. But at least your healthier now."

Roppi chuckled.

They reached the top of the stairs. Roppi reached out and opened his bedroom door. Izaya walked inside.

"I can't life you above my head." Izaya said. "You'll have to get in the tank by yourself."

"Yup."

Izaya walked over to the tank. Roppi reached up and grabbed the edge of it. He pulled himself up.

"Wait, your coa—"

Roppi dove into the water without a care for his shirt and coat.

"Did you take your phone out of your pocket?"

Roppi rolled over in the water. He nodded, pointing to Izaya's hip. The informant cocked his head before reaching into his pocket. He was shocked to feel Roppi's phone as well as his own.

"I didn't know you knew sleight of hands."

Roppi smiled before he pulled himself above the water. "Centuries, Izaya. I've been around for centuries. You pick up a few things."

"Do you know how to pickpocket?"

"Yup. I can pick locks too. And count cards."

"I'm always so impressed with how competent you are."

"After thousands of years—"

"It would be sad if you were incompetent, yes, I'm aware. But Celty's not the most competent individual."

Roppi cocked a brow. "She seems pretty competent all the times we've used her services."

"Well, she is competent. You commission her, and she'll do it. But she's a monster who has developed too much of a human personality. She allows those human qualities overwrite her judgement and make human decisions. If she were to continue as a monster, then I would believe in her competency more."

"But the idea that she's a monster pretending to be a human makes her seem fake, and thus incompetent."

"Exactly."

"…So, the fact that I'm very open with my inhumanity is what to you?"

"It's endearing. No, it's what I would prefer. In my opinion, there is nothing more disgusting than a monster pretending to be a human. Or worse off, a human who gave up their humanity, but still pretends to be a human."

Roppi chuckled. "So, you would hate shapeshifters."

"Depends on what the shapeshifter is attempting. If a shapeshifter was pretending to be a human because they wanted to be human, then they are disgusting. If they were pretending to be a human to do something vile to humanity, then that's acceptable."

"So, from what I understand, if a monster acts like a monster then you are content with them."

"Yes."

"So, your thought of a monster wanting to be human to fall in love with a human?"

"Inexcusable. A monster can love a human without having to fake what they are."

"So, we're pretty okay?"

Izaya stared at him for a moment before he smiled. "Were you becoming insecure?"

"No. I'm just trying to figure out where I stand in your philosophy. You love humans, as you've stated. But I'm not a human so…"

"So long as you don't pretend to be human, then I have no reason to hate you."

"But you have no reason to love me because I'm a monster?"

Izaya hesitated. "I don't know. This is the first time I've felt affection for a monster."

Izaya expected Roppi to deflate. To become disheartened at his lack of confirmation.

But the mermaid smiled. He pressed his mouth to his arm as he stared at Izaya with adoration. Izaya wasn't sure how to take that.

"Can I get a kiss?" Roppi asked, leaning closer.

Izaya chuckled. He walked up and propped himself on his tip-toes. Roppi leaned down and their lips touched.

"Do you want to put the kids in the tank too?" Izaya asked.

"Yeah, if you wouldn't mind bringing them up."

"Of course."

* * *

Izaya let out a heavy sigh, closing his bedroom door. He rubbed the back of his neck. In all truth, he hadn't given much thought to his love relationship with Roppi. He knew he owed Roppi an answer, but he didn't want to answer. He was content with how things were. Couldn't that be considered his answer? He didn't know if he could come to love a monster, but he didn't have a problem with this kind of relationship so wasn't this good enough?

His relationship should be the last of his concern. The Yodojiri bombshell was far more important. If Izaya knew anything about Yodojiri, it was that he didn't do something for random reasons. He had a plan, of course. The notion he developed sentimentality was unlikely. He wanted mermaid children for some reason and Izaya had to figure out what that was before he stole Roppi from him.

At the very least, Izaya knew that his 'transaction' with Nanasaki didn't go unnoticed. The fact that the ambitious businessman was currently missing was proof of that. Not even a month after Roppi came into Izaya's possession, Nanasaki stopped showing up to work. A formal investigation was held by the police when there was clear sign he hadn't been in his apartment for weeks. More than likely, Nanasaki didn't have Yodojiri's blessing to give Izaya his pregnant mermaid and was punished accordingly. But for some reason or another, Nanasaki decided to burn Yodojiri anyway. Either Nanasaki didn't know who he was messing with or Yodojiri did something to deserve the betrayal. Both were very possible. Both were more-than-likely the case.

The informant didn't know how or why Nanasaki would make such a decision. All Izaya had was Roppi's word that Yodojiri was the father. If it wasn't for that, he wouldn't have had any clue Nanasaki and Yodojiri were connected.

Ergo meaning he had no evidence to help him figure out Yodojiri's plan.

Figuring that out what far more important than figuring out his relationship with Roppi, Izaya concluded. Maybe after Yodojiri was dealt with, they could find the answer to Izaya's love together. But for now, that was the not priority.

Izaya groaned as he flumped on his bed.

 **'Tomorrow. I need to try again tomorrow. Gotta keep looking for Yodojiri. Ah, I should check on Sakuraya and Shitsuo as well.'**

Izaya pushed himself off the bed. He needed to do his nightly bathroom traditions before he went to bed so that was what he would do.

* * *

Izaya blinked awake. He didn't know why he suddenly woke up, but he opened his eyes feeling refreshed and alert.

It soon became very clear why he woke as he looked up at white draperies. Looking like a bed from Egyptian depictions, there were transparent, white draperies completely encasing the bed he lied on. The poles that held them up were pure gold with rubies and sapphires embroidering them.

Izaya sat up. His bed had doubled in size and was pure white. White pillows, white blankets, white sheets. The mattress was thick but lacked bedsprings. It felt almost like feathers were underneath him.

"…I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

"Astute observation, my lord. T'would assume most would question their reality."

Izaya looked over to his left. Lying on the bed next to him was a man. Said man had a soft voice that showed his age—most-likely his early twenties, late teens with the dark skin of an Arabian. He wore a loincloth, however it wasn't a traditional Egyptian attire. At least not male attire. The belt was pure gold, decorated with rubies and sapphires, and the clothe was white. The cloth didn't go all the way around, but instead only covered the front and back, exposing the entire length of his legs from the side. In Izaya's opinion, the length of the cloth was a bit much, as it seemed to be able to reach his ankle if he were standing. Lying down, it was bunching to drape across his legs instead of over them. Across his chest was a black crop top short sleeve like garb that hugged his chest and biceps tightly. Around the hems were gold. All across his body was fine jewelry. Golden bands on his bicep, golden bangles gauntlets that stretched up to his mid-forearm, golden neck rings. He seemed like what you would expect from female Egyptian royalty.

However, there was no way Izaya could miss the deformities of this man. First, his feet. He lacked the feet of man. Instead, he had feet akin to jackal feet. From the knees down, his legs were encased in dark brown fur. A dark brown tail flicked back and forth behind his back. And his head. His head was that of a jackal. There wasn't any fur but the flesh around his head seemed to be a darker tint in comparison to the rest of him.

"Good evening. Or mayhaps it is good morrow." The man sat up, grabbing the hem of his loincloth so he didn't accidentally flash Izaya.

"Are you Anubis?"

"Another astute observation. Although, tis may not be because thou art so intelligent, but because of my appearance, tis not?"

"Well, that much is obvious. Although, I do question. Roppi-chan said you didn't have a jackal head, but an actual face."

"I doth hath a face. However, thou art not able to see such. Thou art not spiritually entune so thee shall only see what thee knows."

"…So, because I don't know what your face looks like, I'll only see you as the jackal-headed god of the dead."

"Exactly." His elongated mouth pulled back in a snarl. Izaya could only assume it was a smile. "Thou art quite smart."

"Thank you for the compliment, but you're giving a bit too much praise for just understanding your statement."

"Well, I hath been observing for quite some time now. My companion, Hachimenroppi, hath been suffering so for this last decade. I know Hachimenroppi wish I not become known of this knowledge. However, tis hard not to hark at which hour my name is spoken so fervently. Due to such, I am known of thine character and impressive intelligence."

"I see…"

"Hath my speech confused thee?"

"No. I can understand archaic speech well enough. I've read all of Shakespeare's work, after all."

"I see. Tis quite the relief." The man's eyes closed as he 'smiled' again. "I know not how to change my speech pattern to match the era effectively. Tis can to an extent, however. So, as not to confuse thou further."

"Is that a thing gods can do?"

"Of course."

"Then why can't you?"

"Um…well…" His 'smile' became a bit more strained. "Tis complicated. We hath a limited amount of time to speak so I shall save such a discussion for another day."

"Why are we limited?"

"Because thou tis not spiritually entune, twas only able to reach thou through the traces of the dullahan head thou possessed. Although thee holds the head in possession any longer not, there lay trace 'energy', so to speak, remaining in thine household. Currently, I am using such traces to reach thee."

"…Alright. To what do I owe the honor? Don't tell me you've come to reap me."

"As Hachimenroppi hath explained, I doth the reaping not. Such a thing is the responsibility of Camazotz."

"Then what do you want?"

"I come to cozen on the behalf of thee."

"Hah?"

"The sir known as Yodojiri wishes for an child of a mermaid for the sake of an intelligent child who he may raise to be a loyal soldier."

Izaya's eyes widened.

"He made the same contract with Nanasaki yond Nanasaki made to thou. Head of yond company for a mermaid. Yodojiri had nay intention of giving him the information he needed because he had profit within yond company. However, Nanasaki need to know yond not. He allowed Yodojiri to impregnate Hachimenroppi and had all intention to give Yodojiri the children yond were produced. Eight months passed with nay indication Yodojiri twas holding up his end of the contract. Nanasaki became irate. They held a brief argument over the telephone, in which two weeks later, Nanasaki contacted thou. He knew of thine 'transgression' with Yodojiri, so he wished to burn Yodojiri through thee."

"So, most of my assumptions were right." Izaya found himself saying aloud instead of thinking. It crossed Izaya's mind that he may not be able to think in a dream. But then again, he was thinking right now, right?

"Tis correct. To bring light to another assumption of thine, yes, Yodojiri punished Nanasaki prominently. I weighed him a week after thou took Hachimenroppi into custody."

"Ah. You're right, that is cheating."

"I worry for Hachimenroppi. He is a very lief friend to myself and many other gods. We wish misfortune on him not—"

"Then why haven't you turned him into a god?"

Anubis's eyes narrowed. "We have permission not."

"How many gods is he friends with?"

"Myself, Poseidon, Ares, Hachiman, Loki, and Belki."

"That is quite a number. Wouldn't that be—"

"Tis not quite a number. If thou separates the factions, it is merely one of each religion. Two in the case of the Greeks, however, tis still only two of twelve gods who have a say in who becomes a god. The final decision still relies on Zeus and he stated Roppi shalt nay become a god, for he is our catalyst to the world of mortals."

"Catalyst? So, you're using him? Or maybe," Izaya grinned. "He's the key from our world to yours."

Anubis just stared for a moment. Those dark brown eyes flashed gold for a moment. "Such malice is the reason I hath come to thee. Hachimenroppi has had many loves and I hath intervened before not. However, thee. Thou art a man I question."

"Why? Roppi's dated sociopaths before. At least he says he has."

"He has. But by far, thou art the worse. Thee, with thy twisted philosophy of human love. Thee, who akins himself to a god already. Thee hath drawn needless attention from the gods."

"Have I now? So, you lot have been watching me? That's creepy."

"We avert our eyes once thee enter a restroom."

Izaya's smile fell as he glared. That was a huge breach in privacy and made him extremely uncomfortable. But he couldn't do anything to fix that.

"Hachimenroppi has had many loves and I hath intervened not. But thou art a man I doth not permit Hachimenroppi to love. Thee cannot be trusted."

"Well, you're not Roppi's parent so you have no right to tell Roppi who he can and can't date. And besides, you gods are all-seeing. So, you should be able to read my mind. If I had any form of malicious intent, you could simply send some catastrophe to stop me, right?"

"We can read thy mind not."

"Eh? I thought gods were all seeing."

"We art. Tis the issue."

Izaya cocked a brow.

"Thine thought process is fickle and ever-changing. Very rarely hath we been unable to read a humans mind and thou art of those few."

"Very rarely? How rare?"

"…All the others who we could read not became gods or were prophets of God. Moses, Jesus. Camazotz, Aphrodite, Jurogumo, to name a few."

"Jurogumo is a god? I thought she was a monster."

"She is the spider goddess. Her silk has made the most elegant of robes. She just…chooses to dye her silk with blood every once in a while."

"Huh." Izaya let out a soft sigh. Then he smiled maliciously. "And I'm one of those few."

"Twould seem such. If not for thy patronage, thee may have been considered for godhood."

"My patronage? What do you mean?"

"In order to survive the consummation of ambrosia, thee must think of a catalyst. Something to ground thee to sanity. Mine own catalyst was the jackal, as it held sentimental value to me. Zeus's was the sky, leading to his blue eyes. His hair doth turned white due to Gaia's gift of lightning, but his eyes had remained brown. So, at which hour he took ambrosia, his eyes were changed to blue. Belki's was the concept of healing. As such, my lady shall never be able to cause harm to others, even if be true my lady so did wish to."

Anubis looked at him with eyes of gold.

"Thine patronage would more-than-likely be humanity. Thee would become a god of humanity and yond notion terrifies many of the gods. For a god of humanity would hold loyalty to only humanity. If the gods had to create a catastrophe, such as a tsunami, thee may wage war against us. Thy clever, observant mind could easily find the weaknesses of those above thee to bring them down. Thee as a god would be a danger to us all. And it is because of yond danger that I wish for thee to separate thyself from Hachimenroppi. Return him to the flote where man can harm him any longer not."

Izaya just smiled. "However, by that logic, don't you think I'm also the safest bet for Roppi? After all, megalodon's and other mermaids may kill Roppi in the ocean, especially if he has children. I may not be the best human for him to be a companion with, but I'm better than any other human out there, aren't not? I have status, power, and abilities to keep Roppi safe."

"Thou hath made powerful, inhuman enemies. Hachimenroppi is safe with thee not."

"I have inhuman companions that'll keep us safe enough."

"They art loyal not—"

"Aren't you selling Roppi short? He is a hardened veteran, surviving through the Trojan war and lasting throughout the centuries for as long as he has. He can protect himself. The moment he thinks I'm a danger, he'll leave me. He's not so easily convinced to remain in a relationship that's toxic. I'm sure you know that."

"…Hachimenroppi hath raised himself a bit high on some of his tales. The only reason he doth survive the Trojan War is because twas carrying Achilles' bastard. Thetis would allow him death not because yond child twas all my lady had left of her son. If be true not for yond, Hachimenroppi would hath met death in Troy. Or worse, due to the soldier's hath found true he twas female."

"…However, he survived the colosseum, didn't he?"

"…He did…" Anubis let out a sigh. Izaya blinked and for a split second, he didn't see the jackal head. He saw a human face. Only for a moment. He couldn't make out much other than the Egyptian eye paint blackening the flesh around his brown eyes. "Thou art still a threat. I doth trust thee not, the gods doth trust thee not. Hachimenroppi is safe with thee not."

"Then you better keep a close eye on him. I'm not going to separate from him just yet. I made a promise, after all." Izaya smiled. "Of course, you could tip off Yodojiri in some way or send a catastrophe to forcibly separate us. But that may cause harm to Roppi. He's such a stubborn thing, wouldn't you agree? He may fight tooth and nail to stay with me."

Anubis's eyes turned gold once again. This time, they remained. "Doth thee threaten me? A mere mortal, threatening a god of death?"

"I'm not threatening anyone. I am simply making an observation." Izaya smiled with confidence. "I think our time's up."

Izaya gestured to the side of the bed, which had started to disappear to black a few moments ago. The black was spreading up, getting closer and closer to the two. Anubis looked before glaring back at Izaya.

"Doth hurt Roppi not." Anubis said.

"Is that a command?"

"…No. I can command one such as thee not. I…if aught, tis a request. Roppi is vulnerable as of now. Thee know yond as well as I. If thee break his heart, he shall more-likely be the one to damage thee."

"I'm aware of that." Izaya grinned. "Your concern and warnings are nothing I don't already know. Rest assured, your old lover is in good hands."

Anubis stiffened, glaring at Izaya. "Tis wherefore I hath come to thee not! Roppi is—"

"But you know Roppi loves you. And if you hadn't loved him, you wouldn't be here threatening me."

"I-I do not threaten! I…merely…Roppi is important to me. That is all."

"I don't believe you. But I'll put that under duress. Instead, I'll tell you this."

Izaya leaned in close. Close enough to touch the nose of his jackal snout. He leaned closer still. His face pressed against the snout but continued through. Because the snout wasn't there. The snout was just a figment of Izaya's imagination. And because he registered that, he could see. Almost like fazing through a wall, he could see the true face under the one he thought he knew. The face of a man no older than 19, with a straight nose and thin lips. His face was outlined with a tan headdress, gold embroidering the seams. Said headdress had a jackal head stitched to the front of it. Black eye paint that looked like the ankh outlined his brown eyes. Izaya stared at the true face of a god.

"I'm not going to lose my love to an over-glorified monster. If need be, I'll declare war on you for Roppi's love, just like I declared war on Saika for humanities love. I'm not so barbaric to challenge you to some duel, but I refuse to give up Roppi. Because, I love him, you see?"

Anubis's eyes widened.

And those brown eyes turned golden, filled with shock, were the last thing Izaya saw before he woke up. He blinked and stared up at the bedroom ceiling. The astral white drapery was replaced with darkness. Izaya blinked a few times before he realized where he was.

 **'…That…was a strange dream…'**

Izaya looked over at his clock. Three in the morning. The informant rolled over and decided he would go back to sleep without giving time to decipher what he had seen, heard, or said.


	31. Chapter 31

***This chapter contains mention of drug abuse. No, I do not condone drug use. This is purely from a fictional standpoint of a man who's lived for years and needs pain killers in order to transform. Illegal drugs fall under pain killers. No need to take anything out of context. Do not attempt drugs at home (DUH!)!**

* * *

"Hey, Roppi."

"Hm?" Roppi didn't look at him as his phone seemed more important.

"Can gods enter peoples dreams?"

"Course they can. That's how they usually communicate with mortals." Roppi lowered his phone to look down at the informant who sat on the floor against the tank, tapping away on his laptop. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"…Hm." Roppi obviously didn't trust that but wouldn't say anything more.

"Since we're on the roll of questionnaire, can you tell me how Yodojiri is their father?" Izaya pointed at Hibiya and Tsukishima, who were playing a game of checkers.

"Didn't I tell you?" Roppi asked.

"No."

"Huh. I thought I did." Roppi turned the screen of his phone off. "Well, basically, from what I can understand, Yodojiri wanted a kid. I wasn't able to figure out why; he never told Nanasaki. But you know that deal you made with Nanasaki, about the dirt he wanted on some guy at his company?"

"Yes, I remember."

"He made that deal with Yodojiri first. Yodojiri had nine months to get the information before Nanasaki produced his end of the bargain. I was high off my ass, so I barely remember the old fuck on top of me. But anyway, 8 months pasted and Nanasaki hadn't seen any results from Yodojiri's end. He gave him a call and Yodojiri claimed he wasn't going to give him the information until the kids were born. He didn't want to pone up his end if he didn't know the kids would make it. I'm prone to miscarriages—I think I told you this before—so I think he knew that."

"To miscarriage at 8 months is unlikely though."

"Yeah, but it can happen. I've birthed a few still-borns while being with Nanasaki."

"How many kids did you birth under Nanasaki?"

"…In total there are eight. But I've only had five pregnancy. Shizuo—as you know, Sakuraya and Shitsuo were twins, I had another pair of twins—both boys, Psyche, and then these two." He pointed at the twins playing checkers. "All of them were boys. I very rarely birth girls. In all my years, I've only produced 15 female spawns. All the rest were still-borns."

"Have all your still-borns been girls?"

"Yup. I wanna say only about 10 of my still-borns were boys."

"I can only assume that's a small amount compared to your years."

"Well, yes, 10 still-borns in the 3,200 years I've been around; that's a very small number."

"And you've sired only 50 children."

Roppi nodded. "I know, that seems astronomically low."

"That's a child every 64 years, not counting the fact that you're prone to birthing twins. If all your pregnancies were twins up till this point, that'd be…128 years between pregnancies."

"About right. I'd be in the ocean for hundreds of years at a time. I only came up when I got bored."

"Hm. Well, back onto the topic at hand…"

"Right. So yeah, Nanasaki was getting impatient. We were getting down the wire of when the dirt he wanted could be used and Yodojiri wasn't giving it over until I had the kids, which could be another month or so. Nanasaki found you, gave you a call, and I was yours by the end of the month. That's all she wrote on that matter."

"So, he purposefully burned Yodojiri."

"Yup. And now that I know that you and Yodojiri have bad blood, got to say, that's a significant burn. He wanted the kids for something, I don't know what, and Nanasaki wanted to make sure Yodojiri wouldn't be able to rectify his mistake with a new deal—ergo, why he gave me over instead of giving you the babies."

"Hm." Izaya looked back to his laptop.

 **'So, that dream was more than just a dream. And Anubis wasn't lying at all.'**

"Does Anubis lie?" Izaya asked.

"That's a random question."

"I'm full of them today."

"…Hm. No, Anubis doesn't lie. Because it's his job to be impartial, he keeps it as a practice not to lie. Withhold the truth, yes. But never lie."

Izaya nodded. "Back on the subject of babies, you mentioned once before that you born Achilles's bastard. And that you lost your virginity in a gangrape. I would like to know about that."

"Even though the kids are here?"

"No, we can send them away, or take this elsewhere."

"I don't really care if the kids know. You're the one that seems to have a problem with it."

"Well, it is a bit adult-rated, wouldn't you think?"

Roppi chuckled and nodded. "Okay."

Izaya nodded as well before he stood and went to the toddlers. "Who's hungry?"

"Me!" Hibiya called.

Izaya smiled and took the two babes downstairs. He made them some sandwiches and turned on the TV. He switched to a child's channel and left them to their own devises. Izaya went back upstairs. He left the bedroom door cracked open, so they could hear any ruckus from the kids.

"So," Izaya sat back down, "Achilles's bastard."

"…Yeah, well…So my loss of virginity and Achilles's bastard are the same story. Okay, so I'll start at the beginning. My mom and dad had me on land, and we lived along the beach of Troy. When the Trojan War started, the Aegean's attacked the temple of Apollo on the beach."

"Yes, I know that. History stated as such."

Roppi nodded. "My home was also attacked. My father died holding them off while my mother took me to the sea. I was a beached mermaid—I think I mentioned that before—and what that means is I was born without any form of water. So, I was born with legs instead of a fin. As a beached mermaid, I couldn't enter water until I hit puberty. If I touched any form of water, my gills and fins would start sprouting. I could transform safely at that point in time. If I didn't want to be able to transform, all I had to do was stay away from water until my puberty passed. Now, if I were to enter salt water before I hit puberty, my transformation would be forced. And the shock of such a drastic change to one's body usually causes a heart attack or stroke. If a kid were to go through that, they would most-likely die. That's what I need—wanted to explain to that Psyche kid, because he's a beached mermaid. His dad will have to believe me or Psyche might die young. So…yeah…"

Roppi cleared his throat. "Anyway, so Mom and I managed to escape because of Dad's sacrifice. I had a heart attack, but my mom resuscitated me with electroshock. In the sea, my mom and I entered a 'forbidden area', so the speak. We happened to find the entrance to Atlantis, which was at the bottom of a trench. Said trench was filled with megalodon's. My mom saved my life by pushing me into a grotto. She then left me there to draw the megalodon's away. The meg's knew though, so as soon as she was outside the door, I heard her scream and blood filled the water. It was there, I met Poseidon. He was leaving Atlantis and the grotto I was hiding in was the secret entrance. Poseidon took pity on me and decided to look after me.

"I was fully grown by the end of the year." Roppi continued. "And I was filled with hatred for the Aegean's who killed my parents. I heard a lot of stories of Sparta and how powerful they were. Poseidon showed me the way and gave me the plants to give me legs. I went to train there. I was a quick learner and decided I was ready after two years. I went to Troy and entered the city through the river. The river cut through the side of Troy, metal bars keeping anyone from entering through it. That's how they got water without leaving their city. I bent the bars at the bottom of the river so no one but a mermaid could get in. The Aegean's were right outside the door, getting their asses handed to them. I think that was the day Paris challenged Menelaus. I got through without a problem.

"I waited for Hector's wife, Andromache, to come down and gather water." Roppi started rubbing his thumb against the side of the tank. "She recently had a baby, so the only time she got to herself was when she went to fetch water. I knew that because some of the servants had a conversation about it while they were drawing water. I showed myself to Andromache and told her to get her husband. She did, and I introduced myself to Hector. He knew my father, who would come to Troy to buy meat since we didn't have any livestock. I explained I wanted revenge and since I was inhuman, I could be a prominent asset to his army. We went back and forth for a while, but he finally agreed. I spent the next seven years fighting for Troy.

"During the time when Achilles was refusing to fight for Agamemnon," Roppi went on, "Hector noticed that he hadn't been on the battlefield. We were suspicious of a counterattack; a false sense of security kind of play. I volunteered to check it out. He was against it, but he agreed we needed to know. So, I went through the river and looked at them from the sea. I hid by Achilles's ship and found out Achilles and Agamemnon had some form of spat. I didn't get the full details because one of his men were on the ship and harpooned me. I still have the scar."

Roppi pressed his fin to the tank.

"Towards my 'ankle'."

Izaya looked. He wasn't lying. At the base of his tail, just a few inches above his billowing fin was a patch of flesh that didn't have scales. The informant nodded.

"Did that hurt?" Izaya asked.

Roppi looked at him with a judgmental cock of his brow. "No fucking shit, it hurt."

Izaya held back a laugh. Roppi laughed as well.

"Fucking dupit." The raven shook his head, but he was smiling. "Heh, well, anyway…"

"Yup, continue."

"So, I got harpooned and the bastard pulled me to shore. He was one of Achilles's Myrmidons and went to get Achilles. By their boat was a cave. When the tide was in, the cave was completely underwater. Once the tide was out, it was empty. Achilles wanted to know what I was doing there. I tried to lie and say I was just curious about all the boats. Achilles's mother was a sea nymph, so I figured he'd have mercy on sea folk. But Achilles is a worthless, heartless bastard. He's not the hero stories make him out to be. There was nothing redeemable about him at fucking all. He called me out on my lie. He had seen me on the battlefield before. Even with a helmet, I was very noticeable because I was so small. And I clashed blades with him once."

"You crossed blades with Achilles and lived?"

Roppi nodded. "I only lived because I was stronger than him. Otherwise, he would have had me beat. But yeah, when we clashed swords, he noticed I wasn't Greek. So, when his man pulled me to shore, he recognized me. Then started interrogation. He forced me to eat one of the plants to turn me human. Then he took me to that cave I mentioned. Mind you, the plant I had made my bottom-half female and until my leg pain passed, my strength waned to a normal person's. Achilles tied me to a post and interrogated me under the guise that when the tide came in, I would drown. I wasn't so loose-lipped and what Achilles didn't know was the plant I had, it's effect could be nullified if I drank salt water. So, to have the tide come in was my ticket out.

"Achilles was getting annoyed that I wasn't talking." Roppi developed a glower on his pretty features. "They hadn't done much but punch me and kick me. They threatened to cut off my fingers and toes, but I didn't respond. Achilles said something about me using magic to grow it back, so it was no never mind to me if I lost one, so that wouldn't work. Then…" Roppi clicked his tongue in disgust. "Then, the fucking bastard that hadn't known the touch of a woman in nearly nine years got the great idea to interrogate me differently."

"With rape?"

"Yup. I was a virgin so…" Roppi glanced to the side. "God, it was fucking horrible. He didn't care at all for me. Like, I thoroughly coated his dick in blood, to the point it was dripping, and he didn't give two fucks. What's worse, he came inside. The fucker knocked me up."

"How do you know it was his if this was a gangrape? I mean, I can only assume that's where this story is going."

"It is. Once Achilles was done, he told his men to enjoy themselves. Which they did. The fuckers did not care for me either. I killed one of them though. He thought I was exhausted enough that I wouldn't bite so he put his dick in my mouth. I bit it off and spat it back at his feet. He went into shock and died pretty quick."

Izaya fidgeted slightly as he felt phantom sympathy pains in his groin.

"Achilles ordered his men not to kill me, so they didn't. Instead, they stuffed my ass. I nearly fainted after that one. The pain was so beyond anything I had felt before."

Izaya noticed Roppi's hands were shaking. He had them clenched and pressed to his chest, but they were definitely shaking. Izaya decided not to say anything just yet.

"But how do you know the baby was Achilles's?"

"Because Thetis wouldn't have taken an interest in me if it wasn't. I'll explain that in a bit. Anyway, but yeah, those fucks were on me well into the evening. The tide would be in by night. Achilles tried me one last time, tried to reason with me to speak or drown. I said nothing and instead drank some salt water. That triggered my transformation and as the water went over my head, I was a mermaid again. Strength returned, I broke my ropes and swam back up the river. I was in a lot of pain and exhausted, so I made quite the scene when I ate my plant again and got out of the water. Naked, and bleeding so much from my crotch that the river water didn't stop it, I stumbled around Troy till I got to the palace. One of the soldiers recognized me and sent for Hector. One was kind enough to get me a blanket to wrap up in. When Hector came down, he thought I started my period by the amount of blood on the blanket. I didn't have the heart to explain that wasn't the case. Instead, I gave him my report, that Achilles wasn't fighting because Agamemnon pissed him off.

"Hector made plans that night to attack the Greek camp while they slept." Roppi's brows furrowed with sadness. "That was the morning that Hector killed Patroclus and the same day, Achilles killed Hector. I…I wasn't there to witness his death. I was 'licking my wounds', so to speak, and had slept for the entire day. Helen was kind enough to help me wash up. She knew I was raped because of the way I was sitting and the trouble I was having getting up. Andromache figured it out too. I tried to remain strong…God, I fucking hated that night so much. I was really in denial about it all. Saying shit like, 'I'm fine. I'm a man, a warrior! This isn't something that can hurt me!' I don't remember a lot of that night after the queens of Troy helped me clean up. I remember I yelled for a bit, then I cried, then I got a closed pan of hot coals placed under my bed, warm towels around my lower back and feminine area to try and help the pain, and Opium. Lots of Opium. Or I should say, Opium poppy seeds. Helen and Andromache loaded my food with poppy seeds to help me sleep and to numb the pain. Mind you, poppy seeds by themselves don't have effects on mermaids, leg-wise. The most they do is act as sleeping pills. Now, Opium as the incense that is burned in India, now that shit can do something for mermaids. That shit lasts for four weeks, no pain, no gender. Fucking lovely."

"…Wait, so you've tried Opium*? As in the drug?"

"Fuck yeah I did. I've tried a lot of drugs over the years. Heroine was the worse. I ended up losing my son to it in America. We discovered it together thanks to some godfather's, yeah? We were shooting it up a lot. Mind you, mermaids can get high from human drugs, it just takes a bit more because most drugs have pain inhibitors. On Heroine, it lasted two weeks, pain ended in an hour, and no gender. So, me and my son got really addicted because we couldn't get the prescription drugs without a doctor's note. It was really horrible. I tried to convince Juyu to come back to the sea with me, but he didn't want to. He fell in love with a girl who was just as addicted as he was, and they wanted to live a life together. I wanted to rectify my mistake but there was nothing I could do for him. He wouldn't listen to me and I was becoming toxic from that relationship. I had to get out, with or without him. Haven't touched the shit since and have no intention to."

"Have you tried meth?"

"What's that?"

"Methamphetamine. It's probably one of the worse drugs out there in recent years. Meth is completely synthetic, people make it through the chemicals in their kitchen, like bleach and the sort."

Roppi shook his head. "No, I haven't. If it doesn't originate from a plant, I've never tried it. People use bleach?"

"Usually."

"How—do they ingest it, shoot it up, what?"

"Typically, they use syringes, though I heard you can smoke it. Unless I'm thinking of crack."

"What's crack?"

"It's a street name for cocaine."

"Oh. I've done cocaine. I've eaten coco leaves, the plant cocaine comes from, way back when I first met Camazotz. That lasted about 5 days, I had my correct gender, and the pain never went away. Cocaine the drug, I snorted it once in 1905, when it became all the rave to snort the shit, and fucking wanted to die. I became so paranoid to the point where I locked myself in a closet, puked all over myself from the fear, then fucking passed out cuz my heart couldn't take the stress. I cried myself to sleep that night. Came to feeling like right shit. Haven't touched the stuff since."

"…I'm not sure if I should feel disappointed that you even attempted the stuff, or proud that you dropped it immediately."

"When you're an immortal, you tend to live with the times. I mean, to the fair, Sigmund Fraud said cocaine was good for people, and Hollywood was very pro-cocaine at the time. There was a heavy amount of influence that said cocaine was a good thing to do. We didn't know any better. I didn't know any better. When I found out it came from coco leaves, I didn't think much of it. They use coco leaves in South America to counteract the thin mountain air. People in Eldorado survived off of the stuff and the leaves never caused long lasting effects. I was super chatty afterwards, but that's the worst of it, I wanna say."

Izaya just nodded.

"Don't worry. I have no intention to do drugs in this household. I gave up on that kind of stuff a long time ago, once humans starting sciencing the bad side effects they have. I haven't touched cocaine or heroine in 100 years. Opium, it's been a good few centuries. I wanna say the last time I had some, it was in India in 1639…I think. I know it was in the 1600's. But anyway, I'm not going to do drugs. I never developed an addiction. I don't miss the stuff either. These pills for pain killers are far more effective and healthier than the drugs."

"…I will try my best not to worry. But the idea that you have done them…"

"It was 100 years ago, Izaya."

"But to you, 100 years is mere weeks ago."

"If I'm in the ocean. On land, 100 years is 100 years. I went back down in 1906, came up for Miss Sharon in the 60's. Never had a problem."

Izaya nodded rather hesitantly.

"How did we get on this topic anyway?" Roppi asked.

"Andromache and Helen gave you Opium."

"Right. So, they didn't give me Opium, the drug. They gave me Opium poppy seeds. Which knocked me out for the entire day. I woke up, still quite sore down there, and found out Hector was killed by Achilles. What's worse, Achilles stole his body. And he made King Priam pay a fucking ransom to get it back! I was beyond filled with hatred for the Aegean's. I wanted them all to burn. I wanted to go to their ships and tear holes in the bottom of their boats. Even if I died because of it, I didn't care at that point. Honestly, I was lucky I was in no condition to move around. If I had been, I would have hastened myself to my death."

"…After Hector died, the Greeks agreed to twelve days of peace, so the Trojan's could mourn for their dead prince."

"That's right."

"Then the Trojan horse happened."

"Yup."

"Were you in the city during the sacking of Troy?"

"I told you I wasn't."

"But you were in no condition to move. Unless you healed in twelve days and decided to leave for some reason…"

"Thetis wouldn't let me die. It was too early for me or anyone else to notice, but Thetis knew I was pregnant. And she knew it was Achilles's. She asked Apollo a favor. Because she was a sea nymph, she wouldn't be able to materialize in the human world without the aid of a god. Zeus was the one who brought her to Olympus to watch the war from afar, but he was too busy to give her any attention. So, instead, she asked Apollo to take me out of the city.

"Fucking, scared the life out of me, that fucker did." Roppi glowered. "Apollo snuck into my room in the middle of the night shrouded in a cloak. I didn't even wake up because of how gentle his hands were. He carried me all the way to the lowest depths of the castle and into a secret passage way that led out of the city. That was the same passage way the Trojans used to escape the sacking and head to Rome. I woke up midway through the tunnel and nearly snapped Apollo's neck. Probably wouldn't have actually killed him, but I didn't know who he was or what was going on. I fell asleep in my bed and woke up in a random man's arms in pitch black. Fucking…it was not alright. He and I struggled until we got out of the tunnel. I couldn't put up a decent fight because I was still sore. He eventually explained who he was, so I calmed down. Apollo was Troy's patron god, so I thought he was aiding the Trojans and thus decided to aide me somehow. But I was wrong.

"Once outside the city," Roppi continued, "he took me to the top of a hill, where Thetis was waiting for me. She explained my pregnancy to me and how she wanted the baby. I was…distraught to say the least. Losing my virginity in a rape, finding out I'm carrying the bastards spawn, and then the mother of the rapist demands I give her the fucking baby like I'm some cattle breeder! God, I was irate. I told her to kick bricks and leave Troy alone. Apollo told me of the impending doom of Troy. My immediate response was to return to the city and tell everyone. But Apollo stopped me and told me that I couldn't change the course of history. The death of Troy had a purpose for the rest of the world. If one person were to stop that, then the world could fall into imbalance. You know, the typical crack time-travelers spew to justify not killing Hitler as a baby. He wasn't wrong, though. Without the sacking of Troy, Rome would not exist. So, Italy would not exist. The Vatican, the Pope, none of that would exist if not for the death of the Trojans.

"At the time, I didn't really care about crap like that." Roppi clenched his fists. "I cared about my people. I cared about the death of Achilles. To satisfy my need for revenge, Apollo showed me what was to happen to Achilles. The idea that Paris is the one that killed Achilles and the bastards still didn't get Helen back brought a smile to my face. The war stopped being about Helen as soon as Agamemnon got involved, but the idea that Helen chose to run with the Trojans instead of return to the Aegean's made me so fucking happy.

"But anyway," Roppi paused to let out a sigh, "after that, Thetis forced me to return to the ocean. Like legit, forcefully dragged me to the water and forced my transformation. I ended getting away from her the same night, but we had drifted a good kilometer's away from Troy. I got on land, ate some Juniper berries, and ran for it. Even with my injuries, I made it back to the hill outside of Troy in two days. I didn't stop, or rest and ended up collapsing on that hill. Poseidon took me away, this time taking me to Atlantis where Thetis couldn't reach me."

"But she eventually got the child. You said so yourself."

"I gave it to her. After I birthed it, I couldn't stomach the idea of touching the damned thing. It was a daughter, mind you. My first born was a little girl but I was repulsed by her. So many bad memories that weren't her fault just came rushing back. I couldn't hold her. Couldn't even look at her. Poseidon was kind enough to give her to Thetis for me. As soon as she had the baby, I didn't exist anymore. I haven't seen Thetis since. Good riddance to her and her bastard anyway."

"You know, it's not fair to blame the baby. She—"

"Never asked to be born. I know. I'm aware. I don't hate the child. I hate the events that brought her into my life. So many horrible things were tied to that baby's birth. My chastity was stolen from me. I was dehumanized to the point of being nothing but a masturbation toy. My people were murdered, raped, and driven from their home. Everything I ever knew was taken from me. And then I was seen as nothing more than a thing to produce a baby. I…"

Roppi hesitated. He glared up at the ceiling before his brow furrowed in sorry. He then let out a heavy sigh as his gaze softened with complacently. Or maybe it was depression. Izaya wasn't sure.

"I'll admit, I was really low at the time." Roppi stated, "I debated killing myself a number of times. Poseidon pitied me, so he kept an eye on me to make sure I didn't attempt anything. He tried to help me the best way he could, but Poseidon wasn't a very sentimental person. We share that in common, honestly. And he's very selfish, to a fault. So, he would sit there and ask me what would make me feel better and I had no clue. So, I just asked for food and wine and more food.

"At one point, we had sex." Roppi adverted his eyes. "So, he could show me what real sex should feel like. That sex shouldn't be something I'm scared of. I still don't know if he was trying to help me or taking advantage of my vulnerability. In the end, that didn't end very well for us. I had an anxiety attack underneath him. He left me alone to console myself, which just made me feel so alone. I hated it and I was even more scared. Now, I had to worry about embarrassing myself in front of a god along with the sex. It was so humiliating. We did it again. This time, it felt wrong. The time after, I felt a craving for pain and became so repulsed with myself, I left the room without a word. The fourth time, I gave up trying to understand what was wrong with me and just allowed Poseidon to do what he wanted. I honestly feel bad about it now. I was a dead-lay beyond compare after that, heh."

Roppi's gaze became sad once again as he stared up at the ceiling.

"You're crying, huh?" Izaya stood, reaching up to rub Roppi's cheek.

Roppi jolted and looked down at Izaya wide-eyed. Then he glared. "Shut up. I'm not crying. You're crying."

With that, Roppi tossed his phone on the carpet and dunked himself under the water, swimming down to the bottom of the tank. He lied down there for a moment before breaching the surface.

"I'm fine." The mermaid growled.

"Are you? It may have been centuries ago, but the pain's still there."

"I'm fine. I'll be fine. I always am." Roppi smiled. "I always bounce back."

Izaya didn't believe that at all. The raven stood on his tip toes, reaching his face up.

"What?" Roppi asked.

"Kiss me." Izaya said.

Roppi glowered. "I don't need your pity."

"It's not pity. Come here."

"I don't believe you, at fucking all."

"MMMM!" Izaya puckered his lips and glared up at him.

Roppi held back a laugh, turning his head away.

"MMMM!"

"Okay, okay!" Roppi chuckled.

The mermaid leaned down and kissed the informant. Izaya stopped exaggerating his features to give a proper kiss, sucking on Roppi's bottom lip.

The two separated.

"Hey, let me ask you this." Izaya stated.

"What, more questions?"

"Are you still disgusted with yourself for liking pain?"

"No." Roppi responded immediately, catching Izaya by surprise but the informant didn't show it. "I've accepted that about my personality. I accepted that it's wrong because it's a stigma of what I went through. But, I…I…I got help. I got help and got over it."

"You saw a therapist?"

"No…I…" Roppi glanced to the side. "I think this conversation is over."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not comfortable talking about this."

"Is that the reason you love Anubis? Because he helped you?"

Roppi stiffened. His eyes immediately narrowed in a glare. "Shut up. Right now."

"It's unnatural for you to hold an unrequited love for a god over centuries. If anything, you should have fallen in love with Poseidon. But for some reason, you love Anubis."

"Stop saying that! He could be listening!"

"You think he doesn't already know?"

"Of course, he doesn't! You know how oblivious he is!"

"…Alright, I'll put that under duress. But that doesn't change the subject. You love him. Over the centuries, you've still loved him. I'm trying to understand why."

"That's none of your business!"

"Don't you think it is? You're the one who said you wanted to start a relationship. If you're still hung up on another person, don't you think trying for a relationship is pointless?"

"Just because I love another doesn't mean we can't be happy together. I can still love you, while still loving another."

"So, you're a whore."

Roppi pushed himself up so his full torso was out of the water. He looked down at Izaya, eyes wide with rage and teeth clenched.

"Whore's don't love, you fucking asshole!"

"But you're not loyal."

"I am loyal! I'm loyal to you, aren't I?"

"If Anubis told you tonight to leave me, would you?"

"I—!"

Roppi fell silent.

Izaya's eyes immediately narrowed. Without a word, the informant grabbed his laptop and went to the door.

"O-oi, wait!" Roppi called.

"You're the one who said the conversation was over."

"But—"

Izaya closed the door behind him. He went down the stairs and sat down at his desk.

The informant glowered at his laptop as he tapped away.

 **So, everything Anubis said about Roppi was true. He doesn't lie out of principal, huh? Annoying. What's so good about an airhead god who can't offer anything? Anubis wasn't the one who got him away from Nanasaki. I was. Anubis could only watch for twelve years! And yet he still loves him? Anubis left him to rot in slavery and I was his salvation. He should love me more.'**

Izaya's eyes widened when he realized what he was thinking. He rubbed his eyes as he groaned.

 **'Son of a bitch. I'm getting jealous again. Calm yourself. Calm.'**

The phone buzzed on his desk loudly. Izaya jolted, startled by the sudden noise. He grabbed the device quicker than he needed to.

 **(1) New message: Hachimenroppi**

Izaya's eyes narrowed. But he decided to go to his messages and read it.

 **[Im not going to lie to you. If Anubis asked me to leave you i would probably do it. I would like to say hed have to give good reason but i dont know if i would. You and i havent develope a relationship enough for me to be willin to choose you over Anubis. ITs why i dont tell my SOs of Anubis i guess its a bit obvious when i go on and on about him Im sorry, Izaya. Im not sorry that ilove Anubis. Im sorry that i cant love you over Anubis. I'm sorry that i stil want to be with you despite knowin that about myself. I still want to be wit you. I still want to try for a relationship The balls in your court. We should probably talk face to face about this. Can you come back upstairs?]**

Izaya glowered. There was a pain in his chest that he didn't understand. The pain became more prominent when he reread 'I'm sorry I can't love you over Anubis'. He was peeved to admit that it did hurt to acknowledge Izaya was second best. He probably shouldn't take it to heart. After all, Roppi was his second best, as well. Humanity came first to Izaya so maybe it was only fitting that someone he took interest in considered him second.

He didn't like it, but he had to admit it.

He typed a message. **[Can't. I have a client in a few. Talk to you later.]**

There was a brief silence.

 ***PING* [Okay]**

Izaya turned off his phone and went back to this laptop. He lied about having a client. What he was actually doing was looking up more information on Yodojiri Jinnai and any other possible mermaids. Roppi said there were eight. He could only assume that counted Hibiya and Tsukishima. Psyche was an accident find, but Sakuraya and Shitsuo were easy enough to locate through the information he had on Nanasaki. That left two—a set of twins—unaccounted for. So far, he couldn't find any trails.

But he would keep looking. Despite his personal issues with Roppi, he did make a promise. He wasn't an honorable man, but at the very least, he wasn't going to abandon the task over an argument. He'd have to figure out his relationship with Roppi later.

Once again.

Izaya was starting to notice that having to figure out his relationship with Roppi later was a very common thought process. That annoyed him as well.

The day was starting to become so annoying.

 **'Dammit. If Anubis properly rejected Roppi, then he could probably move on. Instead, Roppi's carrying this burden that he calls love on his shoulder. If Anubis wasn't an asshole, then Roppi could love me and only me.'**

Izaya pushed the laptop away and rested his chest on the desktop. He folded his arms across each other and rested his head in them.

 **'Annoying.'**


	32. Chapter 32

**Hey, you like dead by daylight? You have a twitch? Come watch this cutie Yo, you like dead by daylight? You gotta twitch account? Come watch this cutie.**

 **(twitch) .tv/themagicalqueenfae**

 **Shes 8 away from having 600 followers and I want to shout her out.**  
 **I started watching her yesterday thanks to ohmwrecker's raid. And fell in love. She is such a humble, kind, and sweet girl. Shes just absolutely lovely. If anything, five minutes of your time. That should be long enough to decide if you like her or not.**

* * *

 **[I'm here.]**

Izaya knocked on the door of a luxury hotel room. He waited patiently.

The door opened. The sheepish brunette cracked the door to peer out.

"He-hello." Sakuraya started.

"Hello." Izaya said. "I brought what you asked."

"Um, th-thank you. Please, come in." He opened the door more.

Izaya stepped through the threshold and took off his shoes. Sakuraya closed the door behind him. Shitsuo sat down on the couch, twiddling with his thumbs. His gaze was of a man who was in deep thought.

Izaya walked over to the blond. He sat down in the chair next to the couch, putting a vinyl bag on the coffee table.

"Minigawa told me you were a natural blond." Izaya said. "But I guess you being a natural blond was either his illusion or your lie."

Shitsuo glanced at him. "It was not my lie." The blond looked down at his hands. "It was his illusion. He wanted a blond but Sakuraya and I did not come out as such."

"He had dyed both our hair when we were children." Sakuraya walked over and sat down. "However, as we became teenagers, he decided not to dye mine any longer, as my hair was getting dry."

"Shitsuo-san's hairs must have been getting fried as well."

"It was." Shitsuo looked at him again. "It is. But Minigawa didn't care."

Izaya nodded. "Now that you're not under Minigawa, it might be in your best interest to stop dying your hair. So!" Izaya pulled out three boxes. One was a box of hair bleach, blond hair dye, and hair dye removal. "I took the liberty of providing you the options."

Shitsuo stared at Izaya. Then he glanced away. Izaya took note of that.

"Oh," Izaya said. "Just so you are aware, there may be bit of danger for your baby."

Shitsuo's eyes widened.

Sakuraya jolted. "What?"

"I found out the father of the recent children Roppi had. His name was Yodojiri Jinnai. Apparently, he wanted a mermaid baby for his to raise as an obedient soldier. But since I took Roppi away, Yodojiri didn't get the children and are no longer able to be raised in such a way. It's possible Yodojiri may try to come for your child."

Shitsuo's hand were clenched. Izaya's eyes narrowed.

"Who is Yodojiri?" Sakuraya asked.

Izaya looked at him. "He's…well, let's just say that he's worse than me. I know you may not trust me, but I'm the lesser of two evils. Yodojiri wants you mermaids for the sake of making you obedient bodyguards. I want you so I can reunite you with Roppi-san."

"What has he done?" Shitsuo asked.

"There's a long list of what he's done. But a paraphrased version is, he hired assassins to kill the Black Rider and kidnap a ten-year-old girl. Awakusu Akane is the granddaughter of Awakusu Dougen, who is the founder of the Awakusu-kai—a yakuza group that runs most of Ikebukuro. At the time of this kidnapping, the Awakusu-kai and the Asuki group were going to fuse. So, if Yodojiri had Akane-chan as ransom, he'd have control of both groups. I got in the way of that and he stabbed me, sending me to the hospital."

"A ten-year-old…and he stabbed you?" Sakuraya had a face filled with horror.

Izaya chuckled. "Obviously, I lived to tell the tale. I don't know what Yodojri's overall goal is, but I got a reliable source telling me he wants mermaid children for the sake of bodyguards with super human strength. They'd be fully grown in a year, after all. And if he raised them as his own, they'd have no reason to disobey him, just like you couldn't disobey Minigawa."

Sakuraya's brows furrowed up as his hands started to shake. He put his arms around his stomach almost protectively as he looked down at the ground.

"Don't worry." Izaya said. "I'll make sure he doesn't find you."

"How do we know you are not lying?" Shitsuo asked, glaring at Izaya.

Izaya looked at him. Sakuraya's eyes widened.

"How do we know that such a scheme is not truly your plan and you are saying Yodojiri is the villain to make yourself look good?"

"I think the fact that Roppi admitted Yodojiri is the father of Hibiya and Tsukishima is proof enough."

"Mayhaps Yodojiri and Roppi were lovers."

"Roppi stated he was drugged to the point he barely remembers his 'union' with Yodojiri. He was not conscious enough to give consent."

"How do we know you are not lying to us?!" Shitsuo yelled.

"Would you like to talk to Roppi-san yourself?"

"Yes!"

"He rejected you though. He won't listen to me."

"As far as you say! Why should we believe you?"

"Why should you believe Yodojiri?"

"Because he was kind! He wasn't deceitful like you."

"So, you did meet Yodojiri."

Shitsuo jolted, his eyes stretching wide.

"Shitsu-Nii?" Sakuraya looked at him in surprise. "You met this Yodojiri man?"

"…I did…"

"…Did…did he want my baby?"

"H…he did…"

Sakuraya looked horrified.

"But-but, Sakuraya! He said he wished for a child because he squandered his youth! He-he didn't settle down when he could and so he wants a baby! He was willing to take the baby off our hands. We wouldn't have to worry about an abortion and he'd take care of Minigawa for us. He'd protect us from Minigawa!"

"At the cost of your baby." Izaya stated.

"This baby is doomed to a life it will loath to live!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Sakuraya stood, glaring down at Shitsuo with rage.

The blond jolted, his eyes stretching wide.

"How could you make such a decision without consulting me?! This is my body! This child is in my womb! You cannot decide what happens to my body just because you believe it to be best for me! I thought better of you, Shitsuo! Making such a deal without my knowledge! You're no different than Minigawa!"

Shitsuo's eyes stretched wide with shock. Izaya knew that had to have hit deep and hard.

"How could you have believed such a man, Shitsu-Nii! If he so wished for a child, you could easily have adopted. How could you even talk about our family situation with a stranger?!"

"He…" Shitsuo swallowed hard, his bottom lip quivering. "He already knew. He knew who I was. He knew…Minigawa—"

"And you decided, in good conscious, to trust him over Orihara-san?! How could you be so blind?!"

"He said he would get rid of our situation, Sakuraya! He-he said, he said he'd take the baby off our hands while also getting us away from Minigawa…"

"Did he say how?"

Shitsuo fell quiet, staring down at the ground.

"He offered to kill Minigawa, didn't he?" Izaya asked. "If Minigawa were to die, you two would be the benefactors to his wealth and estate. It would be the most profitable outcome for you."

Shitsuo's face soured with shame.

"You considered the idea?" Sakuraya looked at Shitsuo with horror.

"No! I…" Shitsuo looked up. "I was—I was trying…I…"

"Don't blame him too much, Sakuraya-san." Izaya said calmly. "You two have been through a very stressful situation over the last few years. When desperation strikes, when your forced into a corner, most will come to a conclusion like that."

"The…the idea that you could stoop so low…"

"I was just thinking about what's best for us!" Shitsuo closed his eyes tight shut as he kept his head down. "Minigawa won't stop looking for us. We don't have nearly enough money to get us out of Tokyo. We don't even have legal identification, so we cannot get a job to replenish our cash. We have nothing, Sakuraya. Even with Orihara-san's help, we're nothing but pawns to him! He's using us!"

"How could you say that when he provided us a roof over our head, endless money, and safety!"

"Because our brother stated as such!"

"Broth…"

Sakuraya's eyes widened. Izaya's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"It was that Heiwajima Shizuo's fault our mother rejected us! So, I…I went to talk to him. I went to demand he recant his statement to Hachimenroppi! And all he had to say was that Orihara-san twisted everything! That it was Orihara-san's fault! Even if he was in denial, the amount of animosity behind his words!" Shitsuo looked up finally, glaring at Izaya. "You obviously don't have pure intentions behind your aide!"

"No, I don't." Izaya smiled. "My intention is to reunite you with Hachimenroppi. Not for your benefit, but for Roppi's. In that case, you are completely right. You are pawns. My intentions aren't pure. But I don't care. Roppi is my priority and you children of Roppi's are the only way he will recover from the pain he's been through."

Shitsuo glared at him with hatred. "You—"

"He is the lesser of two evils!" Sakuraya cut Shitsuo off, glaring at his older brother with enough anger to make the blond shrink back. "We may not believe in him, but we can believe in the love he has for our mother! You said so yourself! We are safer here than with an evil we do not know!"

"Actually, you aren't safer here." Izaya stood. "Because Yodojiri knows you're in Ikebukuro, he has more-than-likely found out you're staying here. If you decide to reject him, there's no doubt in my mind he will try to forcefully take the baby."

"Forci—but he wouldn't—"

"He kidnapped a ten-year-old, Shitsu-Nii." Sakuraya interrupted the blond. "If he wants the baby, he will do whatever he can to get it."

"I have another hideout." Izaya pulled out his phone. "Gather your things. I'll figure out transportation. Put on some clothes that you wouldn't normally wear so you're not easily recognized."

Izaya turned and went to the balcony doors. He turned on the screen to his phone.

 **(1) New Message: Namie**

 **[Your mermaid left with the kids.]**

Izaya's eyes widened.

He stepped out onto the balcony as he called Namie. He pressed the phone to his ear. It rang. And rang. Then was answered.

"What do you mean he left?" Izaya growled into the phone.

"He said he would text you, but from your response, he obviously didn't."

"Why did he leave?"

"He said he needed to talk to someone."

"Who?"

"He didn't say. Said it was an old friend."

Izaya's mind began to race. **'Old friend…So, Anubis? Or maybe another mermaid he hasn't seen in a while? Unless he meant it sarcastically. Or cynically. As in meeting an 'old friend' that hurt him. He could be going to meet Yodojiri. He might have the intention to kill Yodojiri for what he's done. But if Yodojiri is the one who contacted him, he would have set a trap. No, Roppi took the kids. He wouldn't endanger them. Would he?'**

"Hello? You still—"

Izaya hung up the phone. He went to Roppi's number and put the phone to his ear.

It rang. And rang. And rang.

It was hung up. Izaya knew it was a hang up instead of finishing its trill. It ended too soon.

He tried to call again.

Immediately, it ended.

"Dammit…"

 ***PING***

A message popped up on his screen.

 **[I cant pic up the phone rite now Just text me]**

Izaya responded. **[Where are you?]**

 ***PING* [Shibuya]**

 **[Why?]**

 ***PING* [I figured you dont want me goin to Ikebu so I went somewhere else]**

Izaya's eyes narrowed. **[Who are you meeting up with?]**

This response took a bit longer than it should have. ***PING* [Just an old friend]**

 **[Who?]**

 ***PING* [If I told you it was Anubis would you believe me?]**

Izaya's eyes narrowed. **[Didn't you say Anubis couldn't come to the mortal realm because they feed off of the prayers of their worshippers?]**

A voice message was sent. Izaya put the phone to his ear to hear it over the gusting wind.

"Dude, chill the fuck out. It's not like I'm running or anything. I took the kids out to lunch and met an old friend. Calm thy titties before I twist your nipples."

Izaya was not amused. He sent a voice message back. "Is that supposed to be funny?"

 ***PING* [I thought it was funny :)]**

Izaya rolled his eyes.

 ***PING* [Seriously calm down im not vetoing myself because of what happened yesterday. Well be back at the house in a few hours]**

 **[What did you take to sprout legs?]**

 ***PING* [Hydro's and aspirin.]**

Izaya glowered. He could have figured Roppi would be breedable if he was talking. That didn't mean he had to like it.

 **[Call me as soon as you're done with your friend. We have things we need to discuss.]**

There was a long pause before finally a ***PING*** resounded. **[K]**

Izaya exited out of his text messages and went to his contacts. He contacted Kine-san, deciding to use him as a reliable driver instead of Black Bike-san.

* * *

"Jeez." Roppi put his phone face down on the table. "He gets so paranoid, I swear."

The man sitting across from Roppi didn't say anything. Just sat looking quite uncomfortable as he glanced to the side. The raven looked at him, glowering ever to slight.

"Sorry about that." Roppi sneered. "Back to the conversation, Heiwajima-san."

The man said nothing. Instead, he took a drink of water. The man before Roppi wasn't Heiwajima Shizuo. But Heiwajima Kichirou. Roppi spent the evening on his phone, talking to Tsukumoya Shinichi about the workplace of the Heiwajima household. Roppi was impressed to find out Shizuo's 'brother' was a famous actor. His 'mother' was a stay-at-home and his 'father' was a successful businessman. It became obvious how Kichirou came to know Nanasaki—more than likely business associates—but he was a very respectable man. There was no sign or indication that they would have malicious hobbies, such as buying monster children and brainwashing them.

But looks were always deceiving.

Roppi found out when Kichirou's break was and waited patiently. He took the kids around town, let them play at the playground and got them some candies. They then went to Kichirou's workplace and Roppi introduced himself. Introduced himself as who he was in relation to Shizuo. Kichirou agreed to a lunch, Roppi's treat.

And currently, that's where they were. Hibiya and Tsukishima were drawing on the kids play mats with crayons. They all had already ordered food.

"I would like to express my condolences." Kichirou stated. "I can't imagine the things you've been through over the years."

"Yes, you can. The fact that you stole my son is proof."

"…Well, yes. I guess I knew a child shouldn't be in that situation."

"Oh, so you're saying you stole my son for his sake?"

Kichirou fell quiet for a moment. He sipped on his coffee for a second. "Nanasaki and I were just idle business partners. We had been working together for a few years and I put a good word in for him at the company he wanted to work at. It helped him get up the ladder of his current workplace. He said he wanted to repay me somehow. He told me he had some pet fishes that he wanted to get rid of. I thought, at the very least, I could take them off his hands and find someone who would want them. I…wasn't expecting it to be a…mermaid…"

Roppi didn't say anything. He glared at the human.

"I did decide it was best to take the child away from that. Namiko and I didn't really know what we were going to do with him, so we just put him in a fish tank and decided we'd go from there."

"Then you decided you wanted to keep him, so you brainwashed him."

Kichirou jolted. "No, that's not what happened!"

Roppi's eyes narrowed. "Sure. What excuse are you going to tell me?"

"Here's your order." A man came over and put a bowl of pork tonkatsu ramen in front of Roppi, Miso and beef ramen in front of Kichirou, onigiri's and nikuman's for Tsukishima, and a meat-and-vegetable okonomiyaki for Hibiya. "Let me know if you need anything else."

"Of course." Roppi said. "Thank you."

The waiter left them alone. The two kids began eating.

Kichirou picked up his chopsticks but he didn't start eating. "I know you have no reason to take my word for anything. But I want you to know, this is true."

"We'll see."

Kichirou nodded. "When we first took Shizuo in, he was very aggressive. With good reason, I know. He wasn't violent, but he'd hiss and swipe at us. He broke my arm just by slapping it. Obviously, mermaids are very strong. He kept telling us he wasn't staying here. He was going to find his mother and return to you. Namiko and I felt terrible. We tried to explain that there was nothing he could do. We offered to take the mother—you—off of Nanasaki's hands. But he said he wanted to keep…the 'producer' in case he needed more um…"

"I get it."

"…Right. Shizuo didn't like us but he seemed to understand we were trying to help. As time passed, him and my son, Kasuka, started to get close with each other. They played as well as the two could play and Shizuo started to open up. We started having dinner together like a family. Things were…looking up for us." Kichirou smiled.

"I'm sensing a 'but'."

"…But, we had a home invasion."

Roppi didn't respond.

"A pair of violent men broke in. I was supposed to go on a business trip, but I ended up trading the trip with a work associate and stayed home for Kasuka's birthday. They must have heard something about that and decided to attack my family. We woke up to men screaming and stuff breaking. I went downstairs with a baseball bat and found the men standing over Shizuo. Shizuo was…he had pulled himself out of the tank and attacked them. Shizuo bit them both and broke their arms. They hit Shizuo in the head with a crowbar. He was…bleeding so much. He was unconscious but breathing, obviously. The men ran when they saw me.

"Shizuo…Shizuo had been rapidly aging since we got him. He looked like he was 13 when this happened. I found out later the two men died from snake venom, apparently. They were administered to the hospital and the police cross-referenced them with my report. But Shizuo…Namiko and I weren't sure what to do. We couldn't take a mermaid to the hospital, so we were stumped on how we could help him."

"So Shizuo dried out and sprouted legs. You took him to the hospital and went he came too, he had memory problems. He thought he was part of your family, that he was 'best friends' with Kasuka because he was his brother. He doesn't know he's a mermaid, he thinks he's human, and because you came to accept him, you never told him the truth after he forgot."

Kichirou's brows furrowed. "That's right…"

"What a predictable story."

"It's the truth."

Roppi didn't respond. He stared down at his ramen. "You should eat. Your lunch will be over soon enough."

With that, he began to eat. Kichirou hesitated before he began to eat as well.

 **'Shizuo was bound to have a defect of some sort.'** Roppi thought. **'Because he ate his umbilical cord, he was going to have some nerve damage. That could be why Shizuo can still use his inhuman strength despite being a beached mermaid now. Or maybe it's because he was in the transition to puberty that he can still use his strength. I don't know. But this story isn't impossible.'**

Roppi let out a sigh.

 **'If Shizuo doesn't remember anything, then there's not much I can do. He does seem to be happy with this family. Tsukumoya couldn't find any dirt that would prove the Heiwajima's are malicious people. Either they're really good at hiding things or they aren't bad people. Just came across bad circumstances.'**

Roppi's brows furrowed.

 **'Should I give up on Shizuo? I've…lost children in the past. This is nothing new to me. But…but…'**

Roppi clenched his fists.

 **'It still hurts.'**

"Papa." Tsukishima pulled on Roppi's arm.

The raven jolted and looked down.

Tsuki smiled up at him. He then reached under Roppi's arm and wrapped his arms around the adult's waist. He hugged him close.

"I love you." Tsukishima said.

"Love you, mom!" Hibiya called then continued eating.

Roppi leaned back, chuckling sourly. He patted Tsukishima's head. "I'm fine."

"I know." Tsukishima smiled up at Roppi. "But I wan' make sure."

The 'mother' ruffled Tsuki's blond locks. He then reached over and ruffled Hibiya's.

"Miss Hachimenroppi." Kichirou said. "I am truly sorry about the turns of events. I'm grateful I got to raise Shizuo, though. Despite his temper, he was a great boy and grew into a man I am proud of. I'm…not going to ask you to leave Shizuo alone."

"But you don't want him to remember who or what he is."

"…I would be lying if I disagreed with you."

"Shizuo is…too old now. When amnesia is brought on by injuries, usually you only have a limited amount of time to trigger the memories. I'm not a psychologist, I'm just going off of what I've seen. It's been years since Shizuo lost his memories. The idea that he'll remember is slim. All I can do…is try to be part of Shizuo's life as a person and not his mother."

"I'm sorry."

Roppi didn't respond. Instead, he continued eating.

Kichirou's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and looked.

"I'm sorry. I need to go." Kichirou stood.

He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He pulled out ¥2,000 and put it on the table.

"This should cover my portion." The businessman said.

"Okay…" Roppi said, having no motivation to remind this man he offered to pay earlier.

With that, Heiwajima Kichirou left.

Roppi let out a heavy sigh. "Where do you two want to go after this?" He asked, looking down at his children.

"Can we go to Ikebu?" Hibiya called. "I wan' see cat lady and white guy!"

"I'm alright with that." Roppi looked down at Tsuki. "You want to see them too?"

"I…don't mind…" The blond smiled up at him.

Roppi smiled as well. He leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "Let's eat and head out."

The boys nodded. The three ate in silence to finish their meals. The children happily nommed while Roppi was trying to battle with the pain in his heart.

* * *

 **So, tumblr has really taken the piss. Like, I knew it did but it really took the piss with this no adult content crap.**

 **I haven't been on the website since it was announced there's no adult content. That was legit the only reason I used the site, because I can't post ecchi pics on deviantart and didn't know any other popular sites that allowed it. So, since I can't use it for the one purpose I wanted to use it for, I haven't used it. But I haven't taken down my tumblr page.**

 **Other than the 'trending pages for you' emails, I've gotten nothing else from Tumblr.**

 **Today, I got an email saying they reviewed my appeal for a post of mine—my CaL ribbon pics, which literally has an r18 tag on it—and they are not considered adult-rated. As a result, your post has been restored.**

 **Again, haven't been on the site since the ban started. I didn't put in an appeal. Somehow, an appeal was put in and was reviewed. My ecchi picture was considered not ecchi and restored.**

 **If that's not broken enough, I decided to go check out my page to see what's been blocked. Nothing. Absolutely none of my adult-rated art has been blocked. I know the reason, it's because I am so miniscule on the site that I basically don't exist. I'm so insignificant that tumblr doesn't care that I exist or not, that's how my work got underneath the radar lol.**

 **But yeah, no. Fucking tumblr is so broken now. Once I finish my r18 manga, I'm going to get rid of my tumblr page and make a pixiv page.**


	33. Chapter 33

"Hello, Shinra." Roppi said into the phone. "The kids want to see you and Celty-san. Are you guys available today?"

 _"Celty's working right now and I'm on my way out. I'll be done in a few hours. I don't know about Celty. You would need to text her. If you don't mind waiting, you can come over at…seven. Does that sound good?"_

"Yeah, that's fine. Thanks."

 _"No problem! See you then."_

"See you."

Roppi hung up.

"What time is it now, Mommy?" Hibiya tugged on Roppi's coat hem.

"It's 4:40ish."

"Eh?! We haf to wait till seven?!"

"There's nothing we can do about that." Roppi smiled at the child. "They have work."

"What's work?"

"It's how humans earn money."

"Why don't you work, Mommy?"

Roppi chuckled. "Well, because Izaya doesn't want me to work."

"He doesn't?"

"…Kind of. He wants me to work for him, but it's…complicated."

"Maybe Mommy should get a job, so we can do somefing."

Roppi chuckled again. "If I get a job, you can't come with me."

"Why?!"

"Because I have to worry about the thing I'm getting paid to do. I can't worry about you."

Hibiya pouted.

"But you know what? There's something we could do that'll entertain you guys."

"What?" Hibiya looked up hopeful.

"Have you ever heard of daycare?"

* * *

"Yodojiri shouldn't know about this location." Izaya stated, turning the living room light on. "You can order take-out whenever you like and there's a grocery store right down the street. Here,"

The informant turned around, holding out a black credit card.

"This way you'll have money on you at all times. The pin is 4200."

Sakuraya looked down at the card. The three stood in the room of a 1R apartment, one that Izaya used when he needed to go into hiding for a few days. There was no reason Yodojiri would know about this place. Izaya made sure of that.

"I'll also station some body guards for you two. They won't be staying with you. Just keeping an eye on the house. You won't even know they're there if they do their job right."

Sakuraya nodded. "Thank you."

"I'll be talking to Roppi today. If things go the way I want them to, he'll be to see you within the week."

"Why would he change his opinion now?" Shitsuo growled, glaring to the side.

"Well, either I convince him, or I give up and figure out what to do with you. I have no qualms supporting you two even if you don't meet Roppi-chan. But since you two don't trust me, I doubt you would want that lifestyle."

Shitsuo glowered at the wall but said nothing.

"Keep your phone charged. I'll keep you posted on Roppi. As soon as I know something, you'll know."

"Okay." Sakuraya nodded. "Again…thank you."

"Think nothing off it." Izaya waved good-bye. "See you."

"Good-bye."

With that, Izaya left.

* * *

"I see. Alright, thank you very much. I'll call you back. Bye."

Roppi hung up the phone and let out a heavy sigh.

He then went to his message logs and clicked Tsukumoya's email. **[Hey, Tsukumoya-san, do you know how to make a fake ID without Izaya finding out?]**

He put his phone down in his lap.

"Mommy, I'm bored." Hibiya pulled on Roppi's sleeve. "And my feet hurt."

"I know. Come here." Roppi knelt down and picked the toddler up.

"What time is it?"

Roppi checked his phone. "5:05."

"Aargh! I wanna see cat lady and white guy already!"

"I know you do. But we have to wait."

Roppi leaned down and picked up Tsukishima. The raven looked at his phone, trying not to drop the device.

 **(1) New message**

"Okay, we need to find a place to sit down so I can—"

Roppi's phone rang.

 **Incoming call: Izaya**

Roppi glowered. He swiped for don't answer.

 ** _'Not in the mood right now for you.'_**

Roppi continued walking.

"Mommy, I'm hungry." Hibiya whined.

"You are not." Roppi glared down at the child. "You're just bored."

Hibiya pouted.

"We'll stop by a park or something. Just have a bit of patience."

"But—"

"Hibiya, if you keep annoying me, I'm going to spank you. Be patient."

"MNGH!" Hibiya's face soured with the start of a tantrum. But he didn't enact on that notion. Instead. he rested his head against Roppi's chest and pouted.

Roppi scoffed but said nothing more.

Roppi's phone rang again. He looked down at it to see it was Izaya. He ignored it and turned off the screen.

"Yo~!" A hand touched Roppi's shoulder.

The raven looked over his shoulder. He immediately smiled.

"Hello, Simon-san."

"Heyo, Roh-Pi-kun. You look tired. Come sit in Russian Sushi. We give discount for kids!"

Roppi chuckled. "We actually just ate."

"Papa, I'm thirsty…" Tsukishima mumbled.

"Thirsty?" Simon smiled. "We have tea and milk. Milk good for growing kids!"

"I like milk…" Tsukishima muttered.

"Do you have strawberry milk?!" Hibiya lifted his head.

"Yup, yup! Choco too!"

"Can we go?! Please!" Hibiya looked up at Roppi with hope in his eyes.

Roppi let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah, we can go."

 ** _'At least it'll entertain them for a bit.'_**

"What you be doing today?" Simon asked as they began to walk.

"Honestly?"

"Honesty best thing to hear."

"…Well, I had a pretty stressful morning. Now, we're just meandering until we can meet up with the Black Bike and Shinra."

"Oh! We have soothing tea! Help pull weighs off shoulder!"

Roppi chuckled. "Ever the salesman, aren't you?"

Simon smiled. "Salesmen be backbone of Japan! Izaya say so once."

Roppi chuckled again.

His phone rang for a third time. Roppi didn't even bother seeing who it was.

"Izaya says a lot of things, doesn't he?"

Simon patted Roppi's back. **"Just so you know, everyone in this city can tell you that Izaya is not a good man. I don't know what your relationship is, so I won't overstep my bounds. But just know, if Izaya's blackmailing you to stay with him, there are a lot of people who would be willing to help you."**

Roppi's eyes stretched. He looked up at Simon with that look.

Simon smiled happily.

 **"Holy shit, you sound so totally different in Russian than your Japanese. That caught me by surprise."**

 **"Funny, Izaya said something similar a while ago."**

Roppi chuckled. He then rested his head against Simon's beefy arm. **"Ah, you know, so many people have told me the same thing. That Izaya's a righteous piece of shit and I shouldn't be with him, especially with kids. I'm fully aware of why everyone says that. But, you know, that shitty side of him is what attracts me. I'm a pretty fucked up individual."**

Simon patted Roppi's back. **"I think you can make a good man out of Izaya. From what I've seen on the Dollars site, you two seem to compliment each other well."**

 **"Really?"**

 **"I think you're wasted on Izaya. But I also think that you can make Izaya develop a heart finally. I haven't seen Izaya make the facial expressions you've made him make."**

Roppi smiled. **"That's really comforting, honestly."**

"Here, here!"

The group stood in front of Russian Sushi. They walked in after taking their shoes off. Simon guided them to a table in the corner. It wasn't a secluded spot, but it gave him room away from others—which helped when having two kids. Roppi put the kids down in their own chairs and sat down.

"Here, beverage list!" Simon handed him a small menu.

"Thank you."

Roppi leaned over so the children could see. They spent the next two minutes figuring out what they wanted. Roppi turned back to Simon.

"Can we get an orange juice, and two kids milk cups, one strawberry and one chocolate."

Simon smiled. "Milk good for bones! Help make healthy children grow! Sprout like flowers!"

Roppi chuckled. "You say so many proverbs, I wonder if you're a monk."

"No monk. Monk have no hair! Me just be well-phrase!"

"I can see that."

"Anything else you want?"

Roppi paused in thought. Then smiled and said, "Yeah, actually, I was wondering, are you guys hiring right now?"

* * *

"Why won't he pick up the phone?" Izaya growled, sitting in the passenger seat of Kine's car.

"Maybe you annoyed him."

"Hmph."

Izaya put the number in again. It began to ring so he put it to his ear.

The phone was hung up.

"God dammit, Roppi…"

"I'm sure he's fine. If he's as strong as Heiwajima Shizuo, Yodojiri will have a hard time taking him down."

"Unless he uses any form of anesthetics. Besides, Roppi has the kids with him. He's more vulnerable."

"You worry too much."

"I worry just the right amount."

Kine just chuckled. Izaya glowered. "What's so funny?"

"I've never seen you so frazzled before. You're usually so composed. This woman seems to be bringing out the humanity in you."

Izaya's gaze narrowed dangerously. "Say that again and I can't be held responsible if your brake line gets cut."

"It's refreshing."

"I'm not feeling refreshed."

"Hm."

Izaya looked down at his phone and went to the Dollars sight. Since Roppi had become all the rage recently, someone had made a whole tab just about Roppi—no different than the tab about the Black Rider sightings. Lots of people were posting pictures and short videos of seeing Roppi walking around and just general paparazzi. Izaya hoped to see if someone spotted Roppi so he wouldn't have to track his phone.

There was a new posting on the site.

 **[Yo, I think Roppi's cheating on Izaya. Look at this.]**

Underneath the text was an image of Roppi from behind. He was wearing black pants, shirt, and his red-fur trimmed coat. The raven was standing next to Simon, leaning his head on the Russian's shoulder, while Simon had his hand on Roppi's back.

Izaya's eyes immediately narrowed.

 ** _'He said he was in Shibuya. Why is he in Ikebukuro?'_**

Bitter, hateful jealous boiled in his chest.

 ** _'So, he lied to me to rendezvous with Simon? Here I thought he was loyal.'_**

Izaya typed a message. **[Are they at Russian Sushi?]**

 **[Yeah, I just saw them go in.]**

 **[I'm in Russian Sushi. They're talking a lot.]**

 **[im in russian sushi too! Dude roppi is chatting this guy UP!]**

 **[Bet hes lookin for someone else because Izayas a asshole.]**

 **[probably]**

 **[although he really shouldnt cheat on izaya he might go missing and his kids—**

Izaya decided to stop reading.

"You can let me off here, Kine-san." Izaya growled, unfastening his seat belt.

Kine did as asked and pulled off. Izaya got out of the car without pause.

"Oi!" Kine said.

Izaya knelt down to peer in the car at him.

"Are you going to have that Saika girl keep an eye on those two kids?"

"That's right."

"You might want to reach out to the Awakusu-Kai. They could protect those two with proper body guards."

"I appreciate your concern, but it would be in their best interest not to expose them to the Awakusu-kai."

"If Yodojiri is after them, then it would be in the Awakusu's interest."

"Well then by that logic, the Awakusu should also be looking for Hijibe Ruri, shouldn't they?"

"Yes, but there's a baby in the picture this time."

"I have my reasons. For now, Neikawa-chan can take care of it."

Kine nodded, although his facial expression didn't show that he agreed.

"I'll call you later." Izaya said and closed the door.

He stepped onto the sidewalk and started walking. He was about 4 blocks away from Russian Sushi. Hopefully, that would be enough time for him to calm down and not cause a scene when he gets there.

* * *

Roppi checked his phone.

 **(1) New Message: Tsukumoya**

 **(4) Missed calls: Izaya**

Roppi went to his messenger. He went to Tsukumoya first.

 **[Of course, I know. Why the secrecy?]**

Roppi responded. **[Izaya will get paranoid once i have all my ducks in a row then ill tell him, until then i want this on the DL.]**

Roppi then went to Izaya's thread. **[Hey, I'm at Russian Sushi. Where—**

Roppi paused in his typing as his chest twinged slightly. He recognized this feeling. He quickly looked up.

In walks the blond bartender, along with his dread-lock haired friend. The little girl was missing but Roppi didn't worry about that. Shizuo looked over and the two made eye contract. Roppi quickly looked away, pulling his hood up over his head.

 ** _'I'm not ready to face him yet. I still have to come to terms with everything. I…'_**

"Hey."

Roppi jolted to the voice. He pulled the hood tighter.

"Hey." Roppi's shoulder was tapped.

"I'm not ready to talk to you right now. Go away."

"…I'm sorry. Can I just borrow five minutes of your time?"

"No. Go away."

"I want to apologize."

Roppi felt like he was going to cry. He clenched his fists and swallowed hard.

He then clenched his teeth and closed his eyes tight shut. He brought his hands down and banged on the table five times fast—which gathered the attention of the entire restaurant while shaking the cups on the table—and turned around.

"Five minutes." Roppi growled. "Speak quickly."

Shizuo's eyes stretched wide, matching Hibiya and Tsukishima's expression. "Uh, um…"

"Speak!"

Shizuo jolted. "Ri-right. Well, I…I want to…I'm sorry. I…" Shizuo growled before he inhaled deeply. "Sorry. Trying to gather my thoughts."

"Four minutes."

"Right. Right. I'm really sorry about our last conversation. I was being abrasive and brash. I should have used more tact. I didn't want to hurt you. Nor did I want to traumatize you."

"I'm not traumatized."

"I don't mean…I didn't want to scare you away from finding the kids that were stolen from you. You deserve happiness, after all you've been through. You—"

"The hell do you know what I've been through?"

"I don't know anything, honestly. Just context clues from what you've told me. I mean, I doubt having a child stolen from you is a straight and normal life."

"It's nothing new to me." Roppi just glared at him.

"…Well, regardless, you wouldn't have responded the way you had in the past if it hadn't affected you."

"Two minutes."

Shizuo glowered but he didn't let his annoyance seep into his voice. "I spoke to one of your kids."

Roppi's eyes widened.

"He looks a lot like me so I…Anyway, my point is, your kids—I know I hurt you. I hurt you on a level I probably couldn't begin to understand. I'm sorry, from the bottom of my heart I regret being so harsh to you. I don't expect you to forgive me or anything. But…I hope that you can at least accept the kids you were stolen from you. The one I talked to, he wants your help. He wants to meet you. He misses his mother. I know I scarred you, but your kids shouldn't suffer for my mistake."

Shizuo bent forward in a bow.

"I'm truly sorry."

Roppi really felt like he was going to cry. His throat was tight and his eyes were starting to sting. Roppi put his hands over his face as he groaned in annoyance. It was the only way to hide his growing heartache.

"Hachimen-san?"

"Fuck you, man." Roppi growled, his voice thick with tears. "Making me cry in public. That's twice now!"

Roppi pulled his hands away and glared up at him.

"Fuck you, dude."

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry catches no prey, fucker!"

"Eh? Um, I'm-I'm sorry anyway…"

"Jerk…" Roppi wiped his eyes. "Jerk."

"I'm sorry."

Roppi tilted his head back and inhaled deeply. He clenched his fists.

 ** _'I need to do this.'_**

"I'm sorry I mistook you for my son." Roppi said. His hands were shaking but he refused to acknowledge that. "I'm sorry about all the unnecessary stress I've caused you. Please, just take everything I've said as the ramblings of a sad woman and move on with your life."

Shizuo's eyes stretched wide. "Wait, so, you know?"

"Yup. I…made a mistake." Roppi said it through clenched teeth. "It won't happen anymore. I…know better now."

"You don't sound like you believe what you're saying."

"It doesn't matter if I believe it or not. So long as you believe it, it's fine."

"If you don't believe it, why should I believe it?"

Roppi glowered. "You're the one who has been adamantly stating I'm not your mother! I'm just agreeing with you finally so take your victory and shove off!"

"This isn't about winning or losing!"

"I know! I get it, okay? I fucked up so just…just accept I understand that now and go on with your day. I won't bother you anymore…"

"…You don't sound convinced."

"Lay off already—"

"You telling me what I want to hear doesn't make either of us feel better! If you want to convince someone with your lie, then don't look like you're going to cry!"

Roppi's eyes lit wide with rage as he pushed off the table to stand. "You fuc—"

A small hand grabbed Roppi's sleeve and tugged hard. He looked down at Tsukishima. The blond didn't have any discernable expression. He just stared up at Roppi with an eerily calm gaze. Then he smiled, softly, warmly.

Roppi closed his eyes and inhaled deeply to calm himself.

"Oi, Shizuo." The man with the dread-locks walked over. "I think this is something you two should do in private."

"Sorry." Shizuo said almost sheepishly.

"Come, come!" Simon called. "Need private booth! Family issues need be settled in private booth. Come!"

"It's not family issues, Simon."

"He's right." Roppi stood. "It's just a misunderstanding on my part. Everything's fine now."

"Everything's obviously not fine."

"That's—"

"Oh, Shizuo." A new voice said. "Fancy running into you here."

"Oh. OH! Is that Hachimenroppi?!" A woman squealed.

"The mermaid of Ikebukuro is here?!" Another man said.

Roppi looked over.

"It is him! The holy relic that is a black-haired person with red eyes is here!"

"We finally get to meet!"

Two people rushed up to Roppi. One was a woman in a black dress. The other was a man with fox eyes.

"Oi, you two!" A man in a green, high-collared jacket with a hat hiding his hair yelled after them but that didn't stop anything.

"Waah, your son even has red eyes! That's amazing! And white hair! You guys look like you walked right off of an anime poster!"

"Hey, hey, we saw your transformation video. You have a super ton of scars on your scales! At least they look like scars! The patches where there's no scales."

"That was just incredible! Does it hurt your kids to transform? It looked like you were in a lot of pain; the idea of your kids suffering as well—"

"Fucking weebs." Roppi interrupted. "Calm your lady boners and I'll answer your questions."

They tilted their heads in unison confusion. "What's a weeb*?"

"Do they not use that term in Japan?"

"I've never heard of it before."

"Huh. Well, whatever." Roppi turned and put his arms out to Tsukishima. "Come on. Private booth it is."

Tsukishima grabbed Roppi's arm and was lifted. Roppi then reached out for Hibiya.

"I can walk!" Hibiya called.

Roppi stared at him. "…Fine. Then carry your glass as well."

"I will!"

Roppi reached over and grabbed Tsukishima's chocolate milk. He held it out to the blond to carry. While he grabbed his orange juice, Hibiya shimmied off the chair and grabbed his strawberry milk.

"Sorry about them, Shizuo." The third man said.

"It's fine. They seemed to have relieved some tension."

Roppi scoffed. He didn't have a reason to, but he felt like being silent would be him proving Shizuo right and he didn't want that.

The group of now 8 went to the back of the restaurant and entered a private booth with a large table. There weren't any chairs, instead there was seat cushions on the floor. Everyone took a seat. Simon went about getting people drinks and passing out menus. Once he was done, he closed the door, leaving the group alone.

"So, who are you guys?" Roppi asked, looking at the newcomers.

"I'm Karisawa Erika." The woman said.

"Yumasaki Walker."

"Tanaka Tom."

"Kadota Kyuhei."

"Kadota as in Dotachin?" Roppi asked.

The man instantly glowered at the cutesy nickname. "…Yeah. But don't call me that."

"Hm. You're one of the figureheads of the Dollars."

"I guess you could say that."

Roppi nodded. "Heard a lot about you from the community. Read Izaya's old chatlogs."

"Eh, so IzaIza didn't tell you about Dotachin?" Erika voiced.

"He hasn't told me anything about the Dollars. I figured it out since he spent a lot of time on that website. It was saved on the phone he gave me."

"Is it because he thought you wouldn't understand or because he didn't want you to know?" Walker asked.

Roppi shrugged. "Never bothered to ask, honestly."

"How much do you know about Izaya?" the man known as Tom asked.

"Enough, I would think. If you want to tell me that Izaya's a piece of shit, like _every_ other person I've met, you can keep your comments to yourself. Not in the mood for it right now."

"You ever stop to think that there's probably a reason for that?" Shizuo growled.

"I know there's a reason. Do I care? Not a wit."

"You have kids, though. You should care."

"I feel like I've had this _exact_ conversation already. Don't need to hear it again."

Shizuo grumbled as he glanced to the side.

Roppi let out a heavy sigh as he closed his eyes and rested his cheek against his fist to prop his head.

"Okay, let me just make this really fucking clear. You know what? Fucking recording this so I can post it on the Dollars."

Roppi pulled out his phone and went to his video camera. As he did so, Simon returned with their drinks. Everyone placed their orders. Once done, Simon closed the door.

Roppi started recording and put the phone on the table.

"Okay, so I _know_ how bad Izaya is. He's a sociopath with a twisted love for humanity. He would rather watch someone struggle to pull themselves out of a burning car than help pull that person out. I _know_ he is like that. I know and I don't care. If anything, that twisted part of his personality is what I love about him the most. Izaya isn't boring. Izaya is beyond entertaining. I know he can keep me by his side just by being the person he is. If he were to decide to give up his twisted ideologies, I would probably leave him.

"I, myself, am not a sociopath." Roppi continued. "Sociopaths can't acknowledge other sociopaths or they are determined to get rid of each other, because a sociopath can _never_ be unoriginal. Every sociopath believes they are the one and only of their kind and that they can never be bettered. So, the fact that Izaya likes my company is proof enough I'm not a sociopath. But I have always been addicted to those sociopathic tendencies—to an extent. I'm not so depraved that I'd be a fan of the serial killers. But I love to play with fire. And sociopaths are fire in human form. Izaya is a fire in human form.

"I will admit," Roppi tucked his hands together and rested his chin on them. "A part of my attraction towards Izaya is the fact that he saved me. I will always be grateful to the man who got me out of slavery. If that wasn't enough, he even treated me like a person and not like an animal or some new carnival attraction. He didn't disillusion himself into thinking I was human or tried to play the role of my holy salvation. He respected me as the monster that I was. I'm grateful to him, but I know from experience that gratitude isn't something you can live off of. I started to like Izaya because I was grateful, then I learned his personality and fell in love with it. I'm with Izaya out of my own free will and by my own volition.

"As for my children, I think Izaya is a good example to learn from. Either they will take after him and be more developed in psychology and perception of human emotions. Or they will reject the idea entirely and live a decent life. The likelihood that Izaya will create children sociopaths is unlikely. Such a defect of empathy is something you're born with. Learning it only gets you so far before you have to sit there and tell yourself not to feel empathy. And with me there to teach them empathy, the likelihood that they'll end up as sociopath's is slim to none. They might be more selfish, more open about their likes and dislikes, but there's nothing bad about that.

"So, to anyone who wishes to tell me, 'Izaya's a piece of shit. Don't be fooled. He'll use you and throw you away' blah blah blah other crap. Listen: _I_. _Know_. Does that scare me? No. Do I fear for my safety? No. Am I being manipulated by Izaya to stay with him? No. Have I developed Stockholm Syndrome? No. I was born in the year 1243 BC, off the banks of Troy. I watched Aegean's and Trojan's battle for ten years. I was there. I am a lot older than I look. Mermaid's don't have a very good concept of time, see? Understand, I am 3,200-years-old. I'm not some dumb fucking bimbo who can be easily swayed by a pretty face and silver tongue. If Izaya tries to manipulate me, then I'm gone. It's as simple as that.

"Oh, and for those that are like 'so you know Izaya would do your analogy, but do you know what he's actually done?' The answer to that is, again, yes. Izaya made the mistake of giving me one of his old phones. He factory reset it, but I wouldn't have made it this far if I didn't have some form of intelligence. I hacked it and set it back to the way it was before it was reset. That gave me access to all his old chatlogs, his appointment days, his forum discussions. I know _exactly_ what he's capable of and what he has done." Roppi looked at them all individually before smiling. "Comments? Questions?"

The room was silent.

The door to the booth opened.

"Yes, I have a question. When you say you hacked my phone, are you talking about the one you dropped in the fish tank and fried?"

Roppi's eyes stretched wide. "How long have you been there?"

"If that's the case, then that means you hacked my phone during the car ride over. It took you thirty minutes to hack my phone and read everything you say you've read. I knew you were smart, but I didn't think you were that smart."

"Oi, I asked a question!"

"I asked first." Izaya closed the door behind him and walked over. He sat down on Roppi's left.

Roppi glowered at him. "…Yeah, I figured it out on the car ride over."

"Ah." Izaya smiled at him, but his eyes weren't smiling. "I wonder if I should be intimidated by you. You keep far too many secrets to be trusted."

Roppi glowered. "The fuck you mean I'm keeping secrets?"

"Well, you blatantly lied to me today."

Roppi jolted. "When the fuck did I lie?"

"You said you were in Shibuya. Went on the Dollars' site and had twenty people saying you were cheating on me with Simon."

"You paranoid—"

"I don't believe the cheating part—although that is an entirely possible notion. He is your type, as you so shamelessly stated before. But it does stand that you lied to me and met up with him in secret. Along with that beast." Izaya glared over at Shizuo. "I've got a few ideas as to what you're scheming but I figured I'd hear you out first."

"The fuck is that, flea!" Shizuo slammed his hands on the table. "What kind of shit are you saying to the person you're dating?!"

"We're not dating." Roppi growled, glaring at Izaya. "And with that attitude, that seems like it'll be a permanent case."

"Ah, so you're okay with mooching off of me with no strings attached."

"That—"

"I figured that'd be the case. Don't worry, I'm not necessarily against it. I can find uses for you in one way or another."

"Okay, first fucking off! Don't fucking phrase shit like that! That sounds like you're going to rape me, and I doubt you want that stigma on your reputation. Second, I didn't lie to you! I _was_ in Shibuya, meeting that old friend. I'll tell you more about it in private later if you stop being a raging cunt. The kids wanted to see Celty and Shinra so we came over this way. And finally, I am not _fucking_ okay with mooching off of you, you daft fucking retard! I've told you time and time again I'll earn my way. It's _you_ who kept saying I don't have to! And as for the 'no strings attached', if that's the way you fucking want it then fine."

"Hm?" Izaya's smile only grew wider as the hatred pooled in his eyes. "Well, I guess that is to be expected. You can't properly love anyone when you still hold Anubis in your heart."

Roppi's eyes went wide with rage. "Listen here—"

"Don't you think that's a little cruel? It makes a lot of sense now, why so many of your love relationships go up in flames. No one would want to stick around if they knew they were competing with a god for your affection. Your so selfish it's almost disgusting. You want to be loved but you can't let go of your unrequited feelings for a mutated death god—"

Roppi grabbed the hem of Izaya's shirt and pulled the informant close. Izaya was forced to stand on his knees.

"You _will not_ speak ill of Anubis." Roppi growled. "Ignoring my feelings for him, he is my patron god. Do _not_ badger him. That is the only line you are not allowed to cross. I don't give a fuck who you are."

Roppi pushed Izaya away.

"And you have no right to call me cruel when you're the exact same way."

"What does that mean? I've been putting you first for quite some time now."

"Bullshit you have."

"I—"

"If you had to choose between watching humanity for eternity or abandoning the human race to stay with me, what would you choose?"

Izaya opened his mouth. But nothing came out.

Roppi smiled triumphantly. "And like that you're a hypocrite. You sitting here telling me I can't find love because I'm still in love with Anubis while you're twisted love for humanity makes it so you can't have a proper relationship. Hypocrite. I'm not number one in your book so why should you be number one in mine?"

Izaya glared pure hatred at Roppi. The mermaid sat down fully and let out a 'hmph'.

"Well, don't worry about it. Soon, I'll be out of your hair so fucking rejoice."

Izaya jolted. "Oi, what—"

"I got a job today. Simon says he'll let me work here and I don't have to worry about social security or ID or anything like that since he knows what I am. Give me two months at the most, I'll be moved out. Ah, but don't worry, you can keep observing me. Watching people from afar is your shtick anyway. This makes your observations easier, don't you—"

Izaya's hand came over Roppi's wrist like a vice grip.

"I don't agree with that." The informant growled. "I never gave you permission to leave."

"When the fuck did I ever need your permission?"

"When I saved your life! I bought you out of slavery! Not only does that mean I own you, but that also means you're indebted to me!"

"You fucking flea!" Shizuo pushed himself to stand.

"And last I fucking recall, I saved your god damn life instead of killing you!" Roppi yelled. "In the honor of warriors, your life now belongs to me because without me, you would be dead! So, consider our debt paid and squared!"

"I'm not a warrior! I don't follow that honor!"

"Then I can kill you now, is what I'm hearing, right?"

Izaya's eyes narrowed. "There are witnesses."

"Witnesses that won't care if you die in front of them. And there won't be a body for Simon to clean up."

"You won't be able to eat me fully. You'll have to throw up then continue eating."

"Two stomachs, Izaya. I have two stomachs."

"One that you already filled up."

"And I have two kids who also have two stomachs and have yet to taste the flesh of man."

Izaya glowered.

"I don't like having my kids now the taste of man-flesh too early. They may get addicted because it's just _so sweet_."

Izaya felt a bit unnerved so he let Roppi's wrist go. The mermaid grinned and grabbed the informant's wrist right back. Izaya gasped as Roppi pulled him close. There was a carnal glint in his eyes. With that look alone, Izaya knew he was talking to an animal.

"But it's never a bad thing if they start liking it. There are plenty of humans who come to the sea to swim so it's not like there would be a shortage for them. You should rejoice, being their first taste of man. You're paving the way for many murders from the sea to come."

Izaya glared to hide his growing anxiety. "If you're just a ravenous beast, then maybe I should just put you down."

"Is that a threat?"

"And what you just said wasn't?"

"Touché." Roppi let Izaya go and turned away. "Don't push my buttons. I have no qualms killing people."

"Savage."

"I'm a warrior, Izaya. I've taken countless lives in order to stand where I am now. If that makes me a savage, so be it."

"Hm." Izaya rested his chin on his propped-up hand and turned away from Roppi, glowering at the wall. "Guess you and Anubis are a match made in heaven then."

Roppi's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

"You send humans to him to be weighed. I'm sure he's very grateful for the work."

"There are over 150,000 deaths per day. He wakes at dawn and doesn't go home until the witching hour. Anubis doesn't need my help to be kept busy."

"Oh, then maybe he despises you."

"…You really want to make me cry, don't you?"

Izaya glanced back at him. Roppi's fists were clenched tight and his head was tilted down.

"I've been trying so fucking hard to keep my composure because of fucking Shizuo and you just have to waltz in and tear me apart."

"Papa…" Tsukishima grabbed Roppi's arm and hugged him close.

Izaya stared for a moment. Then cast his gaze away to glare at the wall.

"…Sorry." The informant muttered.

Roppi glowered at him.

"EH?! IzaIza just apologized?!" Erika called.

"No way! This isn't Izaya! It's a doppelganger!"

Shizuo just stared wide-eyed.

"If you're going to apologize," Roppi growled, "then you shouldn't do it to begin with."

"You're the first person I've apologized to earnestly since I was a kid. Take it as it is."

Roppi grumbled. He wiped his eyes on his sleeves. "Dickhead."

Izaya didn't respond.

Roppi let out a heavy sigh. "You and I need to sit down and have a serious talk. We've had this type of fight twice now."

"Well then quit saying you're going to leave."

"Wouldn't say it if I didn't think that's what you wanted."

"You told me earlier today that you weren't going to run off because of our last conversation. Then you tell me you've got a job."

"Getting a job doesn't mean I'm going to leave you. I only said that to piss you off."

"Then why do you need a job?"

"Because I can't stomach the idea of being a fucking mooch."

"I have no shortage of money so it's no skin off my nose."

"I have my pride goddammit! Who do you think, in their right mind, would be okay being dependent on another person?"

"Plenty of people."

"Well, I'm not one of them."

"Hm…"

"I need to know that if shit hits the fan with you and I that my kids will have a roof over their head afterwards. I can't remain dependent on someone else."

"I'm not so heartless that I'd kick you out on the street. At the very least, I would send you to one of my safehouses."

"You have safehouses?"

"Course I do. Where do you think Sakuraya and Shitsuo have been staying?"

Roppi didn't respond.

"That's something else we need to discuss but not right now. In private."

"…Yeah. I'll save you the trouble. Tell Sakuraya and Shitsuo I'll meet with them. And that Psyche kid." Roppi glanced to the side. "I'll meet with them?"

"Why the change of heart?"

"Tell you later."

Izaya glowered.

"Just let them know I'll meet with them."

"…Alright."

Roppi let out a sigh. He glanced down and stared at his phone. He grabbed it.

"Forgot I was recording." The mermaid muttered as he started to mess with his phone.

"You were recording?" Izaya asked.

"So, you weren't standing outside from the beginning."

"I caught you at the burning car analogy."

"Hm." Roppi looked up at the guest. "Sorry to catch you guys in the middle of our drama."

Shizuo growled. "So long as you have it handled."

"Or what, Shizu-chan?" Izaya sneered. "Were you going to intervene?"

"About to, yeah!" Shizuo glared at him. "The audacity that you can talk to someone you like like that is disgusting!"

"And who are you to tell me how to talk to the person I like?"

"Someone who has a little bit of human decency!"

"Eh, is that it? But you're a monster so you can't have _human_ decency."

"You shit-mouth flea!" Shizuo slammed his hands on the table as he pushed himself to his feet.

Roppi slammed his hand down over Shizuo's, a pair of chopsticks in his hand. The chopsticks snapped in between the blonde's middle and ring finger. Even if he had hit Shizuo, it wouldn't have hurt. It was merely for shock value. And it worked. Shizuo stared down at the chopsticks wide-eyed before looking up at Roppi.

"There are kids present." Roppi growled.

Izaya chuckled.

Roppi reached up and grabbed the sideburn locks of Izaya's hair with his index and thumb. He gave the hairs a tug.

"Ow. Ow!" Izaya leaned into the tugs.

"Both of you are setting horrible examples for Tsukishima and Hibiya. Act your age."

Roppi let go of Izaya's hair while pulling back the broken chopsticks. Izaya rubbed his head and glowered. Shizuo sat down.

"R-right." The blond said. "Sorry."

"Just saying, even if you two despise each other, you should at least act civil in certain situations." Roppi glowered at both of them. "I know you two went to the same high school. You can't tell me you did nothing but fight and somehow managed to graduate."

Before the two could answer, the door opened. Simon smiled, holding platters of sushi. The Russian went about passing them out.

 **"I heard what you were saying."** Simon chuckled, looking at Roppi. **"The only time these two weren't fighting was when they're eating. So, it should be calm now."**

Roppi held back a laugh. **"That's funny."**

 **"No, it's not."** Izaya glowered at the black man.

Roppi looked at him. **"It's actually really cute, if I'm completely honest. That's what little kids do."**

Izaya openly glared at him.

Simon put a plate down in front of the informant as well—a platter of fatty tuna.

"Mommy, I'm hungry!" Hibiya yelled.

"You're not." Roppi growled. "You just ate."

"But everyone else is eating!"

"If everyone was spitting up blood, would you bite your tongue to be doing it too?"

"…No…"

"There's your answer."

"Mmngh!"

Roppi rolled his eyes. "Simon could we get an order of onigiri's please?"

"Da." Simon smiled.

With that, the black man left.

"Neh, neh, neh, Hachin!" Erika started. "When you say you love Anubis, do you mean the Egyptian death god?"

"Who else would I mean?"

"No way, no way! So, Anubis is real?" Walker balked.

"Duh."

"Does he hold shadow games? Does he have the millennium items?"

"…What?"

"He must be an extremely muscular blond! And hold the sphinx card!" Erika looked at Walker.

"The Pyramid of Light shall destroy the Egyptian god cards!"

"Hey, hey, what is Obelisk the Tormentor based off of?" Erika looked at Roppi.

"Does Ra have a winged dragon?" Walker looked at Roppi too.

"What about Slifer the sky dragon?"

"What the fuck are you guys talking about?" Roppi cocked a brow judgingly.

"We're talking about Yu-Gi-Oh!" They called in unison.

Roppi immediately lost interest in the conversation. It showed on his face. A low growl rumbled in his throat before he let out a disappointed sigh.

"Ra does not have a winged dragon. Ra killed a dragon. That's how he earned his title as pharaoh of the Egyptian gods. I have absolutely no clue what Slifer or Obelisk are supposed to be based off of. Isn't that completely redundant, by the way? What's the name of the cards, Slifer the sky dragon and Ra's winged dragon, or something?"

"The Winged Dragon of Ra, and yeah, Slifer the Sky Dragon."

"That's a bit redundant. What're the other gods?"

"There's only three Egyptian god cards. Obelisk, Ra, and Slifer."

Roppi glowered with near annoyance. "What the fuck is that? What are Obelisk and Slifer supposed to be?"

"Well, there are more Egyptian based cards." Walker looked at Erika. "The Heratic Dragons are all based off of Egyptian gods. And there's a lot of Anubis cards. Like the Judgement of Anubis."

"Your point it starting to lose me." Roppi slumped over the table.

"Aah, I was hoping you'd be more open to the 2-D world since you're a fantasy creature." Walker slumped in disappointment.

"He hasn't had time to learn the wonders of 2-D." Erika waved Walker off. "We could educate him!"

Roppi chuckled. "Welcome to the internet. I will be your guide."

The two busted out laughing. "You know memes at least! You can definitely learn!"

Roppi smiled. "I don't mind books and anime. But Anubis is off limits."

"Well, the internet hasn't made him off limits. If anything, they ship him hardcore."

Roppi cocked a brow. "With who?"

"Depends. Yaoi or hentai?"

"Oh, fuck." Roppi sat up. "I'm scared now."

"There's not much," Walker said, "but the things I've read were a bit weird. The hentai was more like Anubis as a species cuz there were four or five of them."

Roppi slumped to lie over the table again, "Well, there is technically a species of Anubis's in mythology. They were in Greek mythology and were known as cynocephali. They don't exist, but Greece took Anubis as a species instead of a god."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

"Shocker." Roppi glanced to the side. "What's the yaoi shit?"

Erika opened her mouth to respond. But nothing came out as Simon opened the door with a platter of onigiri's. Roppi sat up.

"Thanks, Simon." Roppi said.

"Da, da!" Simon put the platter in front of the toddlers.

The black man left without further conversation.

"This is only a snack." Roppi growled, looking down at Hibiya. "Don't ruin your appetite for dinner."

"I won't!" Hibiya called as he happily reached for a rice ball.

Roppi looked at Erika. "So, I'm saying right now. If you're going to tell me the most common pairing is Anubis and Horus, then don't even bother saying it."

"Eh? But it is."

Roppi's fist smacked the table. "No."

Izaya stared at him. "Is there a reason that's so offensive?"

"Oh, fuck yeah. I'll tell you later."

"Well, then subject change!" Walker called. "Is it true the gods were all incestive?"

"Mm!" Roppi reached forward and grabbed his orange juice. "As Poseidon so elegantly put it." He raised the glass in a toast. "We're the Greeks!"

He then chugged the rest of his orange juice like it was beer.

"Wait, so it is true?"

Roppi wiped his mouth. "Ho, yeah. Fucking your kids was a big no-no culturally, but your sister, brother, cousin were all fair game. In Egyptian, all incest was fair game, especially for royalty. I think that's one of the reasons Anubis was so ostracized—he's not inbred, as far as we know. I don't know about Shinto. Norse, no. Myan, no."

"What about the others?" Kadota asked.

"Don't know. They're not part of the faction."

"Faction?" Tom questioned.

"The five I mentioned have a treaty amongst each other. The rest are isolated away from each other by choice. Apparently, they can get really violent. Kali of the Hindu religion was a beast of a woman when Zeus tried to talk to them about joining the treaty. Heard she nearly castrated him. He got away by the literal skin of his dick."

"Interesting." Izaya said.

Roppi nodded.

"What about—"

"Now that the god lecture is over," Izaya cut in, "you and I were having a discussion before I nearly made you cry."

"You interrupted Walker like a douche bag." Roppi growled, "And that was a discussion that should be in private. Not in front of a bunch of fucking strangers."

"I think I should at least know if you're coming home with me or not."

"Where else will I go?"

"So, you were bluffing earlier?"

"Yup. Just wanted to upset you."

"Guess we're even then."

"I didn't nearly make you cry."

"I haven't cried since I was an infant. You won't be able to make me cry as an adult."

"Like a true sociopath."

"Guilty as charged, I guess."

Roppi chuckled. "You and I can be pretty immature, huh?"

"It's worrisome when you and I get immature. I have the brains and you have the strength to hurt a lot of people when we get petty."

"Well, that's why I pull my punches when I'm pissed. If anything, if you and I were to get into a real yelling match, there'd be a lot of property damage. I'd rather punch a wall than your face."

"I would think our matches so far were real."

"No, they weren't. I'm the only one who raises their voice. I do wonder what you'd be like if you started yelling. Cuz, when you get pissed, you go quiet. So, seeing you so pissed you start yelling…I think that'd be a really cold day in hell."

"Hm. Shizuo," Roppi looked up at the faux blond. "I know I didn't sound convincing earlier, but I truly realize I made a mistake. You do look a lot like Shitsuo. I understand where I went wrong. I'm sorry for all the unnecessary stress I've caused you." Roppi bowed his head. "It won't happen anymore."

Izaya stared at Roppi.

"I…" Shizuo nodded. "I'm not upset or anything. I'm happy that the misunderstanding was fixed. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about you."

"You don't need to be. I'll be fine."

"I'm still going to worry, regardless."

Roppi nodded. He cleared his throat. He grabbed his cup and looked at the content despite it being empty.

"Ah, I need some good old mead." Roppi said. "Do they sell that in Japan?"

"I don't know." Izaya said. "I don't drink often."

"By the gods, you are so fucking vanilla it hurts."

Izaya glowered. "I know you're upset but stop insulting me."

"Force of habit, sorry."

"Why is that a force of habit?"

"I'm a soldier. It's expected for me to have a shit mouth."

"…I guess that's true."

"Aahh…" Roppi let himself flump back to lie on the floor. "I want to get shit-faced fucking wasted. That or horrifically rough sex. Neh, Iza-chan, which do you want to do?"

Izaya chuckled. "Honestly, neither which sound all that appealing."

"We could do both. I'm no stranger to some drunken lovemaking."

"No thank you."

"Promise I won't puke on you. Unless you're into that."

"I am _so **not**_ into that."

"Hm."

"Are _you_ into that?"

Roppi chuckled. "Honestly, it depends. I don't like getting puked on or puking on others. But have you ever been fucked to the point you vomit? That was the most intense orgasm I ever had."

Izaya openly cringed. "That sounds like rape."

"One of the times it was. Did I tell you that Achilles and his men took all of my virginities?"

"You explained they too your virginity, yes."

"But did I explain that they took _all_ of them? Ass, mouth, and cunt?"

"…No, you didn't."

"Hm. Well, that time, when they stuffed my ass, I ended up puking. Nearly fainted too. That's when the fuck thought he could get a blowjob and I bit his dick off."

"…Ah. I see." Izaya looked down at Roppi. "Don't you think you're exposing a bit too much information to people you just met?"

"I don't really give a fuck right now. I'm falling back into my black hole of self-loathing and suicidal thoughts. Talking keeps me from spending too much time in my brain—which keeps me from thinking about creative ways to off myself."

"…I didn't take you as suicidal."

"I'm not. On my good days. Bad days, it's best to not let me sprout legs."

"Papa…" Tsukishima tugged on Roppi's shirt. "What's su-side-door?"

Roppi looked over his shoulder at the blond. "It's nothing, honey. I'm not going to do it, so it doesn't matter."

"What's rape?" Hibiya called.

"When you're older, I'll explain."

"Why not now?"

"You're too young. You wouldn't understand."

"But I wanna know."

"Then maybe you should grow up quicker so I can tell you."

"But I like having legs!"

"Well, guess your SOL."

Hibiya pouted then let out a mighty 'HMPH!'. He grabbed another onigiri and shoved it in his mouth.

Tsukishima lied over Roppi's waist, hugging him. "Papa will be okay. I'm gon' stay by your side all of forefer. Papa won' be sad; I'ma make you happy. So, it okay if all kids leave Papa cuz I won'."

Roppi looked down at the blond. His eyes immediately misted over. He clenched his teeth hard as his voice hitched with emotions. Roppi rolled over on his back and picked the blond up. He hugged Tsukishima close, burying his face in his soft hair.

"That's not fair. That's so not fair." Roppi's voice wavered with emotions. "I wasn't ready for that. Tsukishima, why?"

"Don't cry, don't cry!" Tsukishima seemed to go into a panic as he wrapped his small arms around Roppi's neck. "I'm sorry."

"No, you did nothing wrong." Roppi hugged Tsuki close. "Today's just not my day. It's not my day at all."

Roppi clenched his teeth hard and closed his eyes tight shut.

"Aaaaagghhh!" Roppi tilted his head back. "Anubis, I'm hating myself and need your guidance! Lead me to the path of righteousness before I fall into forbidden temptation!"

"That sounds like your praying to God and not a god." Izaya stated.

"Anubis is my God! I'll speak to him how I want!"

Izaya's eyes narrowed at that statement.

"I think Papa should lie down." Tsukishima patted Roppi's cheek to gain his attention. "You tired. Good rest and happy dreams is what you need."

Roppi swallowed hard. He rested his forehead against Tsukishima's as his shoulders jolted with sobs.

"I think it's time for us to go home." Izaya stood.

"But we were gon' go see Cat Lady and White Guy!" Hibiya called.

"We can go there instead."

"We haf wait till seven!"

"It'll be fine." Izaya stood. "Come on. Let's go."

"Yup." Roppi said. "Maybe next time we meet, I'll be more fucking dignified."

Hibiya stood with an onigiri in his hand.

"Alright, Hibiya." Izaya leaned down and picked the child up. "Mama's having a bad day so you're going to behave like a good boy, right?"

"Right!"

"Very good."

Roppi stood, hugging Tsukishima to his chest. The blond rubbed his hand up and down Roppi's back in comfort as the raven turned to the door without another word. Roppi left the room first. Izaya said some farewell's and jabbing comments to Shizuo that Roppi didn't bother to listen to. He then pulled out his wallet, pulled out two ¥2,000 ($20) bills and dropped it on the table. The informant turned to follow Roppi out of the restaurant and on their way to Shinra's place.

* * *

 **Weeb is an English word. An interview in Japan showed that most Japanese had no idea what a weeb or weeabo was.**


	34. Chapter 34

"You know, this is considered breaking and entering." Roppi growled.

"It's fine. It's Shinra's place so he won't mind. I'll even text him to let him know we're here." Izaya put away his lockpicking kit.

"Hm. It's interesting that they make tools for lockpicking now. Before, you had to make picks yourselves."

"Well, being a thief can be a profession now. So, of course they would capitalize on it."

"Hm." The group of four entered the apartment. "Make sure to text Shinra."

"I will, don't worry."

Roppi let out a soft sigh as he sat down on the couch. He lied down on his side, slumping in either exhaustion or defeat. Izaya wasn't sure. The informant grabbed the TV remote and turned on the flat screen for Hibiya and Tsukishima. The children sat down and started channel flicking.

"So," The informant started, "Who's the old friend in Shibuya you met?"

Roppi glanced up at him. He then looked away. "It was Heiwajima Kichirou."

Izaya cocked a brow.

"I had to know the truth behind Shizuo's memory problems. Turns out it wasn't brainwash or Shizuo just being in denial. He truly think's human."

"Well, I could have told you that." Izaya sat down in a chair. "The Heiwajima's are a very normal family except for Shizu-chan. After you told me about Shizu, I did some research on my end to see if they were more than meets the eye."

"I did too. There was nothing suspicious about them. Nanasaki just so happened to meet them as business associates."

"That's exactly the case, yes."

"Kichirou said he couldn't leave a child, even if it was a monster, in the situation we were in. So, out of good conscious, he took Shizuo away. Shizuo got close to their son, Kasuka, and bonded, apparently. After that, there was a home invasion, Shizuo got his head caved in, he sprouted legs, they took him to the hospital, that's all she wrote."

"Seems like the easiest story he could have come up with."

"That's why I believe it. If he comes up with such a piss-poor excuse, then he obviously doesn't have the brains to be a manipulative liar like you or me."

Izaya stared at him. The informant stood. He walked over to stand in front of Roppi. "Sit up for a moment."

Roppi looked up at him. He did as requested. Izaya sat down and patted his thigh for Roppi to lie down. The mermaid did so, resting his head on the informant's lap.

"So, let me guess where your train of thought went." Izaya started, stroking the sideburn locks out of Roppi's face. "Since Shizu's memory loss was due to brain damage, you figured the likelihood of Shizuo actually remembering are slim-to-none. So, you decided to let Shizuo go—to let him live his life as a human without this confusion you could set in. You recanted your statement as Shizuo's mother and decided to move on. But, you weren't ready to talk to Shizuo about it yet, which is why you're in such a horribly emotional mood."

"You'd be right." Roppi chuckled. "Shizuo asked me to meet with my children. Told me I shouldn't reject them because of him. I know he's right so…so that's where the change of heart came in…"

"Well, it's true it's not fair to Sakuraya, Shitsuo, and Psyche."

"I know. I don't need you to tell me that."

Izaya just stroked Roppi's hair. "It'll be okay. The others are very eager to meet you. And even with Shizu-chan as he is, you could still be friends with him."

"I don't want to talk about Shizuo anymore."

"…Okay. I'm more than fine with that."

Roppi chuckled. "You really hate him, don't you?"

"Didn't you just say you don't want to talk about him?"

"Yeah. I've just never seen you so hateful towards someone. You don't even show Yodojiri the same level of animosity."

"I hate nothing more than a monster pretending to be a human. I will admit, back when he and I first met in high school, I tried to show Shizu-chan my love. But he saw right through me."

Roppi let out a monosyllabic chuckle. "You know, if I didn't know you better, I would say that sounded like you tried to fuck him."

"No." Izaya growled. "Don't even. You could say I slept with _anyone_ else in this city, and I wouldn't be upset. But not him. I truly hate him with every fiber of my being."

"Love me or hate me, it's still an obsession."

Izaya glowered. "Shut up."

Roppi chuckled.

"I can schedule a meeting with you, Sakuraya, and Shitsuo tomorrow. I'll give Shiki-san a call and figure out a date for Psyche."

"Okay…"

"Are you going to be okay? You were talking about suicide after all."

"…I'll be fine. Anubis helped me with that a long time ago."

"How so?"

Roppi fell silent.

"You're the one who brought it up."

"I know…"

"You know, I notice you get very hesitant when you bring up Anubis. I already know you love him so what's it matter now?"

"I know, I…it's just…people get weirded out when I say I love a god. Or intimidated, like you put it. And I…I do still love him but I know I don't have a chance, so I still want to love others. I know it's selfish, but an unrequited love will never grow to fruition."

"But dwelling on that unrequited love is what can destroy all your relationships."

"But I'm not dwelling on it. I still hold him close, but I can love others without it interfering with me—"

"If you'd leave me with just one word from him, I'd count that as interfering."

"I…It's not that I…Anubis would have to give me a reason. I wouldn't leave you just because he said so."

"Well, the obvious reason is I'm a sociopath."

"I've dated sociopath's before."

"And he's approved?"

"…No…not really. He says that sociopaths bring out my masochistic side."

"Oh, so you aren't 'pull my hair; scratch my back' unless you're with a sociopath?"

"No, that's not it. I'm…kinda always like that, honestly. No, what I mean is, when I'm with sociopath's I get more…I start changing for my man, you know? I start dementing to be more compatible with that person. It's such a rush to be with them like…like Joker and Harley Quinn! Joker is a drug and Harley loves to relapse. Away from the Joker, she's a confident and able villain, even able to surpass Joker if she tried. But with the Joker, she's very subservient."

"I'm surprised you know about Harley Quinn and the Joker."

"I started reading the Batman comic's when I was with Miss Sharon. When you let me out, I was reading up on what I had missed, and found out they added a cute blond named Harley Quinn."

"Ah, I see. And you end up like Harley when around sociopaths."

"Yeah! It's so fun," Roppi smiled. "The shit sociopaths do is actually really exciting. But it can be really dangerous. And Anubis knows it's dangerous. He doesn't want me to get hurt. So, if I'm going too far down a rabbit hole, he'll decide if he needs to intervene."

Izaya didn't respond. **_'I haven't done anything particularly dangerous while with Roppi. So, it's simply the fact that they can't read my mind that puts Anubis off.'_**

"I…" Roppi continued, "a lot of the times I date sociopaths is because I'm not in a stable state of mind and don't care for my wellbeing. So, Anubis is always looking out for me."

"Don't you think that's because Anubis loves you in return?"

"He doesn't. I know he doesn't."

"Has he said so?"

"Yes and no. He never directly said it, but he made it very clear I was a friend."

"How?"

"…He…saved my life, you know? He stopped me from pulling suicide back when. I'm eternally grateful to him. I fell in love because of that. And he made it a point that I shouldn't love someone out of gratitude. He rejected me, told me he couldn't love me until I learned to love myself first. I started developing into a person I thought Anubis would love and Anubis was repulsed by it. It's so embarrassing to admit now. I was so immature and stupid. But I was in a bad place."

"Was this after the Thetis and Poseidon incident?"

"Yeah. I really…I left Atlantis. The megalodon doesn't attack those Atlanteans. Since I was a welcome guest, the meg wouldn't eat me no matter how long I've been away. So, I had to go elsewhere. I swam for miles. Nothing wanted to bug me though. I think Poseidon's scent was on me. Or maybe Atlantis has some lasting protective pheromone or something that kept sharks from attacking. I don't know. I got attacked by a barracuda, but not a shark and a barracuda isn't enough to kill me. I swam to Egypt, ended up in the Nile. I was kicking up the mud at the bottom, hoping a crocodile or hippo would be enticed to check it out and eat me. Couldn't stay down for long because my gills can't separate mud. Came up and ran into Anubis, who was swimming in the Nile. Told him he should get out of the water because of crocodiles. I dove back under before he could reply, and he took that as an opportunity to grab my tail. Mind you, my gills are like a Nurse Shark's. I can't swim backwards else I'll drown, so Anubis pulling me back up really fucking hurt. Had to go up to the surface to breath, hacking everywhere. Yelled at him and we ended up having a conversation. Anubis took care of me after that. He was so kind. Sweet. At that point in time, he wasn't a death god, so he had no responsibilities. He had no reason to go back to the Palace of Ra other than to sleep, so he spent a lot of days on the mortal plain with me."

Izaya stroked Roppi's hair.

"He really saved my life. I know I shouldn't love someone out of gratitude but it's not just simple gratitude anymore. He took away the animosity I felt. His staff has an ability. It can remove full memories and even emotions from someone's mind. He didn't take the memories away. I didn't want to forget my parents and I would if he removed all aspects of Troy. But he took away the shame the memories brought. That's why rape doesn't really bother me. It's just annoying, since I can't hate myself because of it. I can hate myself for any other reason but not rape. With that, Anubis saved my life yet again. I can say with complete certainty, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Anubis.

"But Anubis can't love me. He's just as broken as I was, probably even more so. I can't satisfy him. I'm his best friend, his most trusted advisor. I can comfort him in whatever way he wants except for the heart. So, I know…I know he can't love me. I want him to love me but I'm not the one for him. I'm just…not good enough. After all these years, I still love him. I don't know why but I can at least move on. I can still love others."

"It's just that love won't be nearly as powerful as your first."

"No love is more powerful than your first. Your love for humanity is your first, isn't it?"

"…I guess that's true."

"My love is unrequited. I know it. But that doesn't mean it'll stop me from falling in love again." Roppi looked up at Izaya. "I can love you, marry you, have kids with you, and live the rest of your life with you. My love for Anubis hasn't inhibited me before."

Izaya nodded. He twirled Roppi's hair around his index finger.

"If you…" Roppi glanced to the side. "If you want to try to date, seriously, my love for Anubis won't get in the way of that. I'll put in the effort if you do too."

Izaya was silent for a moment. He continued to twiddle Roppi's hair without pause. "Let's talk about that after you meet your children. You may change your mind once you know what you want to do after you're reunited."

"…I guess that's true. Shizuo's a no-go and after Sakuraya, Shitsuo, and Psyche, there are only two more left. A set of blond twins."

"I'll find them. Don't worry."

"I'm not worried. I have confidence in your skills. You found three of them within a month so you're obviously competent enough."

Izaya smiled. "It'll all be alright. You'll see."

Roppi smiled as well. "I hope so."

* * *

"Shitsu-Nii."

"Hm?"

"I am not so comfortable with those red eye individuals watching the house."

"Izaya-san said they were his hired help."

"I know, but they seem strange. Almost as if possessed or drugged."

"I'm sure Izaya-san knows what he's doing. You're the one who trusts him so, after all."

Sakuraya's eyes narrowed. He glowered back at Shitsuo. "Are you getting haughty with me? After what you have done? We would not be in this situation if not for you."

"I was just trying to help!"

"Help by deciding what happens to _my_ child in _my_ body!"

"It's potentially my child too! I have as much say as you!"

"No, you do not! For we know not if it is yours! That was the whole point behind our elopement!"

"I know what the point was! It was foolish of us to do such a thing!"

"I know it was foolish! Do not lecture me upon this!"

Shitsuo fell silent, glowering at his brother. Sakuraya glowered right back. The two let out a heavy sigh before sitting down on the bed.

"…Sakuraya, I apologize deeply for my mistake. I held the best intentions for you and the baby. I know…I know the child will cause you suffering."

"…I know as well. However, what if it does not? What if…what if we love the child as much as it loves us? It…the baby did not ask to be born, just as we did not ask for this twisted love from our father. To condemn the child is not fair…"

Shitsuo couldn't respond. He never thought about it like that.

Sakuraya fell quiet. He lied down on the bed, staring at the wall as a bout of depression swirled in his chest. The blond-turning-brunette looked down at Sakuraya. Shitsuo crawled over to lay behind his pink-eyed brother. He hugged Sakuraya from behind. The pink brunette stiffened. He knew it was his brother but memories he didn't not want to remember flashed before his eyes. Memories of the man he knew as father holding him in the same way with villainous intent.

"I am sorry, brother." Shitsuo said. "I am so sorry."

Sakuraya swallowed hard. Shitsuo's voice reminded him of where he was and who it was hugging him. There was no evil goal, just sweet console from his loving brother.

"…It is alright." Sakuraya stated. "Orihara-san fixed your mistake."

Shitsuo glowered.

"I know you distrust Orihara-san. However, he has done so much for us, even if it was merely to aid our mother."

"We cannot live off of gratitude."

"I know. We shall find a way to live after we meet our mother. Meeting Hachimenroppi will be the first stepping stone for our future."

"I…don't know if it'll be that simple." Shitsuo propped himself up on his elbow.

"Maybe not. But I think…it shall give us a form of closure. Meeting Hachimenroppi will only help us."

Shitsuo didn't know how to respond. He lied back on the bed to stare at the ceiling. "I am worried, my brother."

"I am as well. But what else can we do?"

"…I guess that is true…"

The two sighed heavily.

Then there was a knock at the door. The two jolted in response. They looked at each other, sharing the same expression of nervousness.

Shitsuo reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the cellphone. There were no new messages from Izaya. The two's nervousness excelled into fear.

"Shitsu-Nii…"

"Stay here." Shitsuo stood.

The blond-turning brunette walked over to the door. He gazed out through the peephole. One of the red-eyed individuals stood in front of the door, staring into the peephole with a toothy smile.

 ** _'What does he want?'_**

"He~~llo~!" The person knocked again. "Shitsuo-kun! Sakuraya-kun! Orihara-san wants to talk to you~!"

 ** _'Where is Orihara-san then?'_**

"Shitsuo-kun? Sakuraya-kun?" The knocking grew in harshness. "You shouldn't keep Orihara-san waiting."

Shitsuo grabbed a chair and propped it underneath the door handle. He rushed back over to Sakuraya.

"Call Orihara-san." Shitsuo said.

"Who is that?"

"Shitsuo-kun? Sakuraya-kun? What's wrong?" The man banged on the door.

"Call Orihara-san now."

Sakuraya grabbed the phone.

* * *

Izaya's phone buzzed in his pocket, right against Roppi's ear. The mermaid jolted and raised his head quickly. Roppi was about to fall asleep on Izaya's lap but that woke him with a start. Roppi propped himself on his arms, blinking rapidly.

Izaya reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Sakuraya and Shitsuo were calling. The informant answered it and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

 _"Orihara-san, one of your red-eyed bodyguards is acting weird!"_ Sakuraya stated in a voice filled with nervousness.

"Eh? How so?"

 _"He's pounding on the door, saying you want to talk to us! He—"_

Something hard smacked against wood. Sakuraya gasped loudly.

 _"What is—"_

 _"Sakuraya, come!"_ Shitsuo's voice echoed into the phone. _"There's a window in the water closet!"_

 _"But Orihara—"_

 _"That door will not hold by the time Orihara-san arrives! Come!"_

The phone was hung up.

"What's wrong?" Roppi asked. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Izaya stood. "You stay here. I'll—"

"Like hell I'm staying here! Those are my kids in trouble!"

"This may be a distraction to get you to leave the kids alone."

"Or the kids are out of the question and Sakuraya is the intended target because he's pregnant. It's probably Yodojiri. He went through the trouble of impregnating me, after all. He wants a mermaid kid for some reason and if Sakuraya is pregnant…"

"You're more-than-likely right. That's why we shouldn't leave the kids."

"The kids aren't the target anymore. Sakuraya's baby is."

"We shouldn't take the risk! Just stay here for now. Shinra will be back soon enough!"

"But—"

Izaya didn't wait for a further response. He turned towards the door and put the phone to his ear.

"Neikawa-chan, where are you right now?"

As Izaya left the house, Roppi clenched his teeth and glowered.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" Hibiya looked back at Roppi.

Roppi growled. "If he thinks I'm going to sit here like a damsel, he's got another thing coming."

"Papa?" Tsukishima pushed himself to his feet.

Roppi pulled out his phone. "I have my own connections after all."

* * *

Sakuraya and Shitsuo huffed harshly as they ran, holding one hand. Shitsuo took the lead through the streets of Ikebukuro. Behind them, they could hear thundering footsteps. The bodyguards who were supposed to protect them were now pursuing them.

They ran and ran. Quickly, they rounded a street corner. Then in a sudden jerk, Sakuraya tugged Shitsuo back. The two ducked into a narrow side alley. The group of red-eyed people ran past. They both let out a breath of relief.

"Why are Orihara-san's men chasing us?" Shitsuo whispered.

"I do not know." Sakuraya panted.

"Does Orihara-san know about this?"

"I do not know."

"Should we try calling him again?"

"Shitsu-Nii! I do not know!"

"Sssh, brother!" Shitsuo put his hand over Sakuraya's mouth. "We know not where they are."

Sakuraya glared at him.

The cellphone buzzed in Sakuraya's pocket. Luckily the ringer was off, but the vibration was loud enough to make both of them jolt. The brunette reached into his pocket and pulled out the device. Izaya was calling. Sakuraya answered it and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

 _"Sakuraya-san, can you tell me what's going on?"_

"The red-eyed bodyguards, one of them started beating on the door. He said you wanted to talk to us. When we did not show signs of being convinced, they started breaking the door down. Currently, they are chasing us. We know not where they are. We seem to have lost them."

 _"I'm on my way now. Where are you?"_

"Um…Shitsu-Nii, where are we?"

Shitsuo looked at Sakuraya then looked to the entrance of the alleyway. The faux-blond shimmied to the mouth of the alleyway and poked his head out.

Immediately, a knife came towards his face. Shitsuo called out in surprise before ducking back, the blade missing his flesh by an inch. He quickly turned back to Sakuraya.

"Shitsu—"

"Run, go! They found us!"

Sakuraya did as told, hanging up the phone. He went out the other end of the alley with Shitsuo hot on his heels. The two began running once again.

* * *

Roppi walked down the streets of Ikebukuro with Tsukishima and Hibiya in his arms. The raven turned a corner, coming into sight of Russian Sushi. Roppi quickened his pace, breaking out into a jog. He stepped through the front door of the sushi shop.

"Hi, Samia!" Roppi called.

"Hel-lo, Ro-Pii!" Simon walked over to the mother. "Babies be safe here! You go help other babies!"

"Thank you so much for this, Samia. I don't mean to impose on you, but this is important."

Simon smiled. **"Just make sure to return safely. A mother shouldn't partake in dangerous events, after all."**

 **"I'll return, no questions asked. I'm not going to let this bastard Yodojiri be the death of me, that's for certain."**

 **"This city has a way creating bastards like that. It also has a way of causing peoples deaths."**

 **"Every city has its deaths and bastards. That's nothing new."**

 **"I'm not worried that you won't come back. I'm worried you'll come back worse off for your children."**

 **"I'll be okay. I'm a soldier."**

Simon nodded, reaching behind his back. He pulled out a sheathed hunting knife.

 **"A soldier should be properly equipped. You don't have your batons."**

Roppi stared down at the knife, his eyes narrowing with uncertainty. He swallowed hard.

"Alright, listen to me, you two." Roppi looked at Tsukishima and Hibiya. "I have to go help Izaya. I want you two to behave for Samia here. Be good; do what he says. I'll be back for you in a bit, okay?"

"Okay, Papa."

"Okay, Mommy!"

Roppi kissed both the children on the temples then held them out to Simon. The Russian wrapped his arm around Hibiya—that hand occupied with the knife—and held Tsukishima with the other. Roppi took the blade from him so he could hold Hibiya properly.

The mermaid looked down at the knife. Confliction was on his expression.

"Heavy burden to hold weapon after decide to put down." Simon stated.

Roppi chuckled, taking a moment to decipher Simon's broken Japanese. "It's not…hard. It's really easy to pick up a sword after deciding to never hold one again. That's why it's such a struggle…"

Roppi inhaled deeply then exhaled. He attached the sheath to his belt and looked back up at Simon.

"I'll be back, soldjaboy."

"Da, da, be safe!"

* * *

"So, Neikawa-chan," Izaya looked down at the girl, sneering with narrowed eyes. "What's going on with your children?"

"I don't know. They're listening to me; then they ignore me. It might be another Saika mother taking control of them." Neikawa glowered down at her knife. "What is that Sonohara-san doing?"

"Are you sure it's Sonohara Anri?"

"No, but she's the only other Saika mother I know of. It has to be her."

"Hm." Izaya turned away.

 ** _'Sonohara wouldn't have a reason to target Sakuraya and Shitsuo. I don't think she even knows about their relevance to me. She shouldn't have any clue about the mermaids, other than the Dollars' posts. Even then, Sakuraya and Shitsuo were never made public in relation to Roppi.'_**

Izaya looked back at Neikawa. "Do you have eyes on the two?"

"One of the children said they were at OO street."

Izaya put his phone to his ear. "Did you hear that, Izumii?"

 _"Yeah. Who am I looking for again?"_

"A brunette in a white yukata with a pink haori and a blond with brown roots in a white button up. The blond will look a lot like Heiwajima Shizuo."

 _"Fucking hell."_

Izumii hung up the phone. Izaya just smiled at the phone with a glare before putting it in his pocket.

"Neikawa-chan, how many children can you get to follow you without getting stolen?"

"There are plenty in the area."

Izaya nodded. **_'In order for a Saika child to be under another Saika's control, they'd have to get stabbed by that other Saika. Unless the real Saika is exerting her control over the children, but again, Sonohara shouldn't have a reason to get involved. No, I think another Saika mother is controlling them.'_**

Izaya's eyes narrowed.

 ** _'Is there a third mother, though? I can't think of anyone else who developed like Neikawa.'_**

Izaya shook his head.

 ** _'That doesn't matter. What matters is this third mother had to have cut some of Neikawa's children. Now the question is whether she cut them today, or earlier in their life time. If it was today, then someone has been watching us since we left the hotel. It has to be Yodojiri. There's no one else who would be after the baby…Unless it's Minigawa. No, Minigawa wouldn't have connections to Saika, and even if he did, that weak-willed man wouldn't be able to win over Saika. It has to be Yodojiri. Which means Yodojiri has a Saika under his thumb.'_**

Izaya glowered.

"Call as many children as you can," Izaya looked at Neikawa, "tell them to stop the other children from hurting Sakuraya and Shitsuo."

"Yes, yes." Neikawa said with obvious irritation.

* * *

 **Hachimen: [Hey, this is Hachimenroppi! The mermaid thats with Izaya. If any of you Dollars guys wanna be a hero I need some help right now 2 of my kids -full grown adults- are being chased thru Ikebu I need clues as to were they are!]**

 **[Wow! Hachimenroppi is actually online!]**

 **[I didn't think a mermaid could learn to use a phone!]**

 **[The hell are you talking about? Hes obviously used a phone before!]**

 **[hey, do you know what they look like? Hachimen]**

 **Hachimen: [audio clip 9 sec** _"Honestly, no, I don't._ Hah, hah. _These kids were taken from me when they were infants. If I'm right in assuming—_ hah, hah— _one has black hair and one had brown hair. The brown one looks disgustingly like Heiwajima Shizuo."_ **]**

 **[oh shit I forgot your kids were stolen I'm sorry!]**

 **[you finally found some! Good for you!]**

 **[do you know what part of town there in?]**

 **[is Izaya looking for them?]**

 **[I saw Izaya on XX street.]**

 **[he had a girl with him.]**

 **[are your kids girls Hachimen]**

 **Hachimen: [audio clip 2 sec** _"They're boys."_ **]**

 **[who's the girl then?]**

 **[here, I got a picture. ]**

The image was of Izaya, talking to a girl with hair that reached past her rump and wearing a pink dress.

 **Hachimen: [Audio clip 4 sec** _"I know her. She's an 'employee', you could say."_

 **[Employee? That sounds suspicious]**

 **[izaya's always suspicious]**

 **[they're heading for OO street]**

 **Hachimen: [Audio clip 4 sec** _"Has anyone seen my two kids though?"_ **]**

 **[I saw someone running down the road on OO street]**

 **[two people?]**

 **[I didn't get a good look]**

 **[I found them! They're just left OO street and are heading for ZZ street!]**

 **Hachimen: [Audio clip 4 sec** _"Thanks. Keep me posted. I'm on my way."_ **]**


	35. Chapter 35

Sakuraya fell to his knees in a back alley, behind an AC unit. His heart was pounding in his chest, his clothes were sticking to him due to sweat, and his breath was coming out loud and heavy. He was having trouble breathing as he sucked in air greedily. Shitsuo was in the same state, leaning against the wall by Sakuraya. He grabbed the chest of his shirt and pulled to allow airflow against his skin.

"I cannot…run anymore…" Sakuraya stated. "Sh-Sh-Shitsu-Nii…"

"I…I cannot either…" Shitsuo slid down the wall to sit next to his brother. "I do not…I do not know what we can do, brother…"

"We…seem to have lost them for-for now…" Sakuraya rested his head against Shitsuo's shoulder. "Let us rest for a moment…"

* * *

"Anything, Neikawa-chan?" Izaya looked back at the Saika girl.

"The children don't know where they went."

 ** _'…I guess that's a good thing. At least the other Saika's haven't found them.'_**

The informant pulled out his phone. **[Have you found them, Izumii-san?]** He sent the text message.

His phone buzzed soon enough. **[Nope]**

Izaya glowered.

 ***PING*** Izaya looked down. **[Theres red eye people fightin all over the place.]**

 **[Don't get stabbed by any of them.]**

 ***PING* [No shit]**

Izaya glowered. He pocketed his phone.

* * *

Roppi panted heavily as he screeched to a stop in his tracks. He looked around himself, finding a street sign. He then looked down at his phone.

 **[I saw them just leave XX street. I dont know where they went]**

 **[theres still a lot of red eye people running around though]**

 **[Dude, theres so many of them! Theyve got knives and scissors and all kinds of stuff!]**

 **[Roppi-san, be careful! These people after your kids are dangerous!]**

Roppi typed a message. **Hachimen: [dont do anything stupid guys. If theyve got knives then dont engage them or anything. Keep me posted, thats all I ask]**

 **[you got it!]**

 **[no problem there! Dont want to get stabbed tonight!]**

 **[so long as they dont attack your kids, Ill steer clear. But Im not going to let some punks pull a knife on someone if I can help it]**

 **[same]**

 **[Same!]**

 **[ive got some weps of my own so I aint scared to tussle with these guys]**

 **Hachimen: [The guy chasing my kids is yakuza-level status so really, guys, dont get involved if you can help it]**

 **[We know the risks.]**

 **[its Izaya were talking about so I would expect he has yakuza-level enemies]**

 **[im not getting involved with yakuza]**

 **[me neither]**

 **Hachimen: [dont get involved if you dont want to. All I ask is someone tell me if they see my kids]**

 **[were not scared]**

 **[We'll help, Ropp-san!]**

 **[The Dollars are anonymous anyway! We'll be fine!]**

 **[I saw them leave XX street! Tailing them now!]**

Roppi looked around himself. He exited out of the chat and went to the GPS. He put in the location to XX street. The device calibrated and showed he was quite a ways away from his destination.

Roppi pocketed the phone and ran towards XX street.

* * *

Sakuraya placed the phone to his ear, the device trilling. He waited impatiently, his body shaking with the silent tapping of his foot.

The phone picked up. _"Sakuraya-san, where are you?"_

"W-we just passed XX street. We're hi-hiding in an alleyway behind a um, a bakery, I think…"

 _"Have any of the red-eyed people found you?"_

"N-no. We're safe for now, it would seem. We—"

"Shoosh, brother!" Shitsuo rushed over and covered Sakuraya's mouth out of pure instinct.

 _"What's wrong? Hey!"_

Sakuraya couldn't respond but he wouldn't have responded anyway. Multiple, heavy footsteps echoed down the mouth of the alleyway. It sounded like they were walking past. By the shuffling of the feet, they could only assume it was the red-eyed pursuers.

Sakuraya's form started to shake. At least he assumed it was his form. He couldn't tell if it was Shitsuo's shaky hand or his own jittering body. He didn't care to figure that out either. The footsteps sounded like they were going to walk by. But they also sounded like they were turning down the alley. If they glanced down the backalley they were occupying…

Their heartbeats thudded with unison fear.

 _"Sakuraya-san!"_

The raven jolted to the mechanical voice in his ear, which caused him to audibly gasp.

The footsteps fell quiet. The two stiffened, Shitsuo's grip on Sakuraya's mouth tightening slightly.

The footsteps were definitely coming down the alleyway now.

"Come!" Shitsuo hissed before he stood. He grabbed Sakuraya's arm and tugged him to his feet.

The back door to the 'bakery' opened. The two jolted and looked over. A young woman with brown hair stood before them.

"Hey, come in here." She beckoned to them. "Hurry!"

The two looked at each in uncertainty. She didn't have red eyes but what if she was working under Yodojiri? What if Yodojiri was inside waiting for them? This could be a pigeon-hole, forcing them into a corner.

But what choice did they have?

Sakuraya hung up the phone and the two rushed forward. The woman stepped out of the way to let them through. The mermaids entered the kitchen filled with what looked like dough, sugar, and flour. Definitely a bakery of some sort. A man who looked to be around the same age as the woman looked at them. He held two sweaters, a purple t-shirt, and a pair of slacks in his hands. He rushed over quickly.

"Here, put these on." The man said. "The people chasing you probably know what clothes you're wearing. Switch into these quickly!"

"Eh?" Sakuraya's eyes widened.

"How do you know…" Shitsuo started.

"We're members of the Dollars. Your mother is looking for you, so she caught us up on your situation."

They both jolted. "Our mother—he's looking for us?"

The woman nodded, smiling warmly. "That's right. She's somewhere in the city right now."

"Do you know where?" Shitsuo asked.

"I just let her know you're here." The man said, pocketing his phone. "Hopefully, she'll get here before the guys chasing you do."

The two nodded. Sakuraya looked at Shitsuo with worry. They obviously shared a thought.

 ** _'What if they go after our mother instead?'_**

They were both fearful of the prospect. They didn't know if Roppi could properly defend himself so for all they knew, their selfish desire would put all three of them in danger. But at the same time, they also feared for their own safety. They wanted their mother to come for them.

"Hurry and get dressed!" The woman said.

The two jolted. They then nodded and took the clothes. The two were guided into a closet where they could change in privacy. The door was shut behind them, the two left alone.

"Shitsu-Nii…should we trust them?" Sakuraya asked.

"We don't have much of a choice right now. These change of clothes will help us, so let us take their kindness with a grain of salt."

Sakuraya didn't look so certain. However, he didn't voice his opinion as he went about taking off his yukata.

The two were changed into the different shirts within minutes. Sakuraya pulled on the slacks as well. The two walked out with their original attire folded neatly in their hands.

However, they were immediately pushed back in by the man. Their eyes stretched wide and Shitsuo immediately went defensive, grabbing Sakuraya. The man, however, had pure intentions as he put a finger to his lips in silence.

"I'm sorry, we haven't seen anyone like you described." The woman said.

"Are you sure?" An older voice resounded.

Shitsuo recognized the voice. His eyes stretched wide as he stiffened. He then whispered to Sakuraya. "That's Yodojiri-san's voice."

"I would think I would remember such a vibrant haori. Pink is my favorite color and that's so pretty!"

"Do you know him?" The male baker whispered back. "Is he a friend?"

The two shook their heads.

The man nodded. "Got it. Leave your clothes in here. We'll give them back to you later, promise."

The two nodded again. They put them on one of the many boxes in the closet. They then pulled their hoodie over their heads.

"Well, if you see them, please give me a call." Yodojiri said. "They are not in their right mind and might hurt themselves. The police are currently looking for them as well."

"Understood. If I spot them, I'll be sure to call the police."

"…Yes, please do that…"

The man held back a laugh. Sakuraya smiled and so did Shitsuo.

 ** _'She called his bluff.'_**

The front door opened with the sound of a bell. The man leaned back and looked towards the front of the store. He then waved for the two to come. Sakuraya and Shitsuo let out a breath of relief as they followed. The woman came back into the kitchen.

"You two need to go." She said. "That guy totally didn't believe me. So, I think he might stake out the place."

"Shit." The man said. He then thought for a moment. "Here, the attic has a window to get on the roof. The buildings are close enough together that you should be able to hop to the next roof over. I doubt they'll be looking up."

"…I concur." Shitsuo said. "Please, lead the way."

The man nodded and the two followed him. They went into the office and the man grabbed a stick with a hook on the end of it. He then pulled down a ladder from the ceiling.

"Thank you so much for your help." Shitsuo said.

"Thank you!" Sakuraya bowed before them.

"Think nothing of it!"

"Good luck!"

The two nodded before they went up the ladder. Shitsuo went first, followed by Sakuraya. The attic door closed behind them. True to their word, there was a window in the roof of the building. Said roof was quite low to the ground, so low Shitsuo and Sakuraya had to duck down to not hit their heads. Shitsuo went over to it and grabbed the handle. He pushed up. The window stuck, but with the right amount of force, Shitsuo got it open. He climbed up onto the roof. He offered his hand to Sakuraya, who took it, and pulled the raven up.

Now on the roof, the two made their way across to the next building over.

* * *

"They've successfully lost all the children." Neikawa said, looking at the informant. "That, or they got picked up by someone who isn't a Saika."

Izaya growled as he looked around himself. ** _'Either Yodojiri is the Saika or he has a Saika under his thumb. 'Mothers' don't seem to be able to sense each other since Neikawa-chan couldn't find Sonohara Anri. If he's the 'Mother', then we won't know if he's got them.'_**

"The children are fighting each other." Neikawa stated. "There's fights all over the city. We—"

Neikawa fell silent as sirens sounded in the distance, heading their way. Izaya took it upon himself to grab the young girls arm and tug her into an alley. A cop car drove by at an alarming speed.

"They're heading towards one of the fights." Neikawa voiced. "One of the police men is a Saika child."

"Is that fight anywhere close to where we last saw Sakuraya and Shitsuo?"

"No, it's in the opposite direction."

"Alright, good."

Izaya turned. The two walked down the alley the opposite way they entered. The raven looked up at the street signs. He then looked down at his phone navigator. XX street was just around the corner.

"Alright, come—"

Izaya heard someone on his immediate left as he stepped out of the alley. He responded before looking, raising a knife and jumping back. A pair of scissors bounced off his flickblade. Izaya swung his hand, knocking the utensils away with his weapon. He smiled his usual façade as he hopped back a few steps.

Neikawa came out of the alley, her own knife at the ready and swinging. She swiped at Izaya's assailant. The knife cut into the Saika child's arm. Almost instantly, the 'child' paused.

"You've got him?" Izaya asked.

"I think so." Neikawa looked at Izaya then at the new child. "Do you know where Sakuraya and Shitsuo are?"

"No." The man shook his head, smiling lovingly. "We lost them around XX street. Mother checked the bakery, but they weren't there."

"Bakery?" Neikawa cocked a brow.

Izaya's eyes immediately narrowed. **_'Did Yodojiri tap my phone?'_**

He clenched his teeth.

 ** _'No, it has to be Sakuraya's phone. I'm not that careless.'_**

"We need to get to the bakery." Izaya stated.

"Show us the way." Neikawa said to the child.

"Yes, Mother." The man turned around and broke out in a run.

Neikawa and Izaya chased after him.

 ** _'Shit, this means I can't call Sakuraya for anymore updates. Last place known was the bakery. We'll only know their location if some of the children finds them.'_**

The three crossed a street and dipped down an alleyway.

 ** _'It feels like Yodojiri is one step ahead of me. It's so infuriating!'_**

The crossed another street. Izaya glanced up at the street sign. Still not XX street, but Izaya knew they weren't far off.

 ** _'At least we know that Mother is with Yodojiri. If the 'Mother' checked the bakery, then either it's Yodojiri or Yodojiri's underling. I'll have to ask the people at the bakery if they actually saw anyone besides Sakuraya and Shitsuo.'_**

The man turned into another alley. Izaya and Neikawa followed. Almost immediately, Izaya could hear the sounds of a fight. People were calling out in pain. Metal clattered against metal. Rushed footsteps and hefty thuds against the concrete. The man was leading them right towards the fight.

"Oi, Neikawa-chan!" Izaya looked at the girl.

The three turned a corner. Izaya and Neikawa came to a screeching halt while the child continued to run forward. At the end of the alley was a black-haired man. He had no coat, wearing a tight long sleeve and tight black jeans. Around his hip was a holster for a hunting knife. Said knife was in his hand with blood along the edge. Two people were unconscious on the ground. One was in the person's hands.

The brunette had his wrist pressed to the back of the person's neck, holding the blade backhanded so it touched the Saika's throat. His other hand held the Saika's wrist out against his waist. In the next moment, the raven took his hand off the man's neck, raised it, and slammed it down on the man's bicep. A bone-chill crack resounded, followed by the man's scream in pain. The raven threw the man on the ground, who fell limp against the concrete.

"Roppi…" Izaya voiced, feeling a small pit of annoyance. **_'I told him to stay with Hibiya and Tsukishima!'_**

Then Izaya's eyes stretched wide. The Saika child they had been following continued running down the alley. He swung his scissors at the back of the only standing person.

"Roppi, watch out!" Izaya called.

The raven turned. The scissors sliced at Roppi's face. A prominent gash appeared on his cheek, blood seeping down instantly. Roppi's red eyes stretched wide.

 ** _'Shit, no!'_** Izaya rushed forward. ** _'I didn't want Neikawa or the other Saika to have control of him!'_**

Roppi's eyes narrowed in a glare before his hand swung out in a punch.

Izaya froze, eyes widening. **_'Eh?'_**

The mermaid's fist slammed into the man's temple. He crumpled to the ground instantly and didn't stir. The Saika child was unconscious in one hit.

 ** _'Wait, how is he…'_**

"Ow." Roppi touched the back of his hand to his cheek. "That was a bit too close for comfort to the eye."

 ** _'He can feel pain. Shizuo wasn't able to be controlled by Saika because he couldn't feel pain. But Roppi can, yet he's still himself?'_**

Izaya looked at Neikawa. The high schooler looked just as stunned as he did.

"Hey, did you find them yet?" Roppi looked at Izaya.

"…Are you okay?" the informant asked.

Roppi's eyes narrowed in a glower. "I'm fine. Did you find Sakuraya and Shitsuo?"

"…No, not yet…" Izaya couldn't trust this.

"…What?" Roppi took a step towards Izaya. "Why are you staring at me like I sprouted an extra head?"

Izaya took a step back. "Well, no, it's not like that. It's…well…" He glanced at Neikawa.

"I can't control him." The girl raised her knife, looking it over. "I can't hear his love."

Roppi's eyes narrowed in a glare. "The fuck are you talking about?"

Izaya looked at Neikawa. "Has that ever happened before?"

"Only against Anri-chan and Heiwajima Shizuo."

"But Roppi's not a Saika."

"Are you sure?"

Izaya fell silent. **_'Shizuo was immune and so is Roppi? Is it something in their genes?'_**

Roppi pulled his lip back in a snarl, an inhuman growl echoing in his throat. Such a noise regained Izaya and Neikawa's attention.

"If you two are going to stand there being useless," Roppi growled. "I'm going on ahead."

With that, Roppi turned and ran down the alleyway, stepping back onto the sidewalk.

"Ah, Roppi, wait!" Izaya called.

The informant rushed down the alley, followed closely by Neikawa. He stepped over the downed Saika's and turned right to follow Roppi on the street. Izaya saw Roppi turn into a bakery, most-likely the one Izaya had been looking for.

 ** _'How did he know about the bakery?'_**

Izaya and Neikawa ran over. The two entered the bakery.

"…Just sent them off! They went up on the rooftops!" A woman said. "We figured it'd be safest for them to get to high ground!"

"Can you describe the old man to me?"

"He looked to be in his mid-forties or so, in a beige suit. His hair was completely white. He also had a woman with him. She looked to be in her early-thirty's with brown hair, glasses and in a dress suit. Her hair was up in a ponytail with a red bow."

Roppi nodded. "I know them. You did the right thing sending them off. Those two would have staked this place out if Sakuraya and Shitsuo stayed."

"Do you know what direction they went?" Izaya rushed forward to stand by Roppi—giving the bleeding man a wide girth.

"From their footsteps on the roof," the man behind the counter said, "It sounded like they went right. That way." He pointed to the wall of the store.

Roppi and Izaya nodded. "Thank you."

"Of course!" The woman bowed. "Good luck!"

With that, the three rushed out of the store.

"Roppi," Izaya started, the group turning right to follow the mermaids. "Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, Izaya. They're just a few nicks. Nothing fatal."

"No, I mean, mentally."

"I'm _fine_!"

"You're not hearing any voices in your head? Mantra's of 'I love you'?"

Roppi same to a sudden stop. So sudden, Izaya nearly bumped into him. Roppi turned on him fast enough to make Izaya surprised.

"What the hell are you on about?" Roppi glared at him. "No, I'm not hearing anything like that! Now, can we go?"

Izaya fell quiet, just staring. He looked back at Neikawa.

The girl just shrugged. "I don't know why. He was definitely cut by a Saika. I should be able to control him through our bonded love."

Roppi cocked a brow, looking at her with strict judgement. "Is that what this was about? Your cursed object trying to do something to my brain?"

"The Saika blade," Izaya started. "is a demonic sword. She wanted to love humanity, however, the only way she can express her love is by cutting them. When she cuts them, she induces intense pain and fear and through the pain, she's able to implant some of her love into the person she cut. The host of Saika is able to control all those she cuts. Only one Saika can control the masses, and that's the 'Mother'—the host of Saika. The people she cuts become her children and are able to create more children with their cuts. Neikawa-chan," Izaya pointed at the girl, "Is a Mother. So, she should be able to control you since you've been cut."

Roppi glowered. He then chuckled, his eyes narrowing in a cynical grin. "Sorry, I'm immune to any form of possessive attacks."

"How?"

"Anubis's staff. When he took my shame, the staff left an imprint on my mind. Because of that, things like possession from ghosts, mind control, emotion influence—basically anything that can be considered magical or psychic in nature can't harm my mind. Only magic stronger than Anubis's can override his blockade."

"…Oh." Izaya wasn't sure how to respond. "Well, isn't that neat."

"Can we get back to the task at hand here?"

Without another word, Roppi turned around and ran off.

"Sakuraya! Shitsuo!" Roppi called.

"Roppi, wait up!" Izaya gave chase, followed by Neikawa yet again.

* * *

Sakuraya and Shitsuo stopped running, taking a break in another alleyway. They weren't being chased, but after they left the rooftops, they didn't want to take the chance of being spotted. As soon as their feet touched the concrete, they started running again.

The two had run away from XX street and were now on WW street.

Sakuraya pulled out his phone. He knelt down behind an AC unit and clicked Izaya's contact. He put the phone to his ear.

Izaya picked up. _"Sakuraya—"_

"Orihara-san, we're on WW street. Behind a—"

 _"Sakuraya-san, stop! I'm certain your phone is bugged!"_

"What?"

 _"Yodojiri had to have bug your phone! He knew you were at the bakery!"_

Sakuraya jolted. Such a thing hadn't even crossed his mind. He thought it was the red-eyed people relaying the information, but it was possible it was the other way around.

 _"We just left XX street. Destroy that phone and come back this way. Meet up on the corner of XX and WW, alright? Quickly!"_

"O-okay!"

Sakuraya hung up the phone. He then stood, threw the phone on the ground, and stomped on it. Shitsuo flinched.

"Sakur—"

"Izaya-san said to destroy the phone. Yodojiri was tracking us through it."

Shitsuo's eye widened.

"Come, brother." Sakuraya grabbed Shitsuo's wrist. "Izaya-san isn't that far away. He said to meet on the corner of XX and WW."

"Alright, let's—"

Shitsuo fell silent as the two turned, with full intent to head back the way they came. However, the way was blocked. Two people stood at the end of the alleyway. An older gentlemen in a beige suit, and a middle-aged woman with a red bow in her hair.

Shitsuo's eyes stretched wide. "Yodojiri..."

"Come along, you two." The old man smiled sweetly. "Enough of this running around. I'm sure all this exercise isn't good for the baby, Sakuraya-chan."

The raven flinched back, holding Shitsuo's wrist tightly as fear welded in his chest.

Shitsuo turned around to go out the other way, however, that exit was blocked too. A crowd of four people with red eyes were standing at the other end of the alley, smiling at them as they brandished their weapons. Shitsuo clenched his fists before looking around.

He spotted their exit. Behind some trashcan's was a small gap between the buildings. Sakuraya and himself could barely fit though there. At the very least, the bigger gent wouldn't be able to follow them. They would be safe until Izaya-san showed up.

Shitsuo rushed over. He grabbed one trashcan and knocked it over, kicking it towards the red-eyed crowd. He then grabbed Sakuraya's wrist.

"Go, go!" Shitsuo pushed Sakuraya into the gap.

The raven had just enough room to shimmy sideways through. Sakuraya looked over his shoulder to make sure Shitsuo was following, which he was. The two held hands as they rushed through the gap and were back on the sidewalk. They then ran across the street.

A car horn tearing through the air made both the mermaids jolt. The horn was followed closely by the screeching of tires. They quickly looked over their shoulder to see a car come barreling down at them.

"Sakura—" Shitsuo had only enough time to get a portion of his brother's name out and wrap his arms around him before the vehicle slammed into them.

The grill of the car slammed into their waists, thighs, and knees, causing both of their feet to fly up off the concrete and their heads to slam on the windshield. They called out in pain. The car came to a screeching stop, forcing the two on its hood to fly off. Shitsuo and Sakuraya slammed into the concrete a foot away from the dented car.

* * *

Izaya, Roppi, and Neikawa turned the corner of XX street. The three ran down the sidewalk, seeing the corner Izaya had just told the two running mermaids to head to. A moment later, Izaya saw them. Further down WW street, the two popped out of a gap between two buildings and immediately began running.

"Sakur—"

The informant wanted to call out to them, but he fell short when he saw the car coming up behind the two. Neither of them seemed to notice until it was too late. Everything happened so quickly. The car honked and tires screeched. The two were hit full force with the motor vehicle, both careening over the metal and cracking the windshield. The car came to a stop. Sakuraya and Shitsuo flew a small distance away from the car to hit the ground hard.

Everything fell quiet thereafter. Izaya froze in his tracks, not fully comprehending what he just witnessed.

"Sakuraya! Shitsuo!" Roppi called.

The mother ran towards his felled children without a care. Izaya jolted and quickly followed after him.

The car that had hit the two reversed, swerved around them and made an immediate left turn down the adjacent road. Izaya's eyes followed the car, part of him thinking about getting their license plates. That quickly didn't matter anymore as he saw _him_. The man the bakers had described. An older man in a beige suit, accompanied by a younger woman in a dress suit with a red bow in her hair.

 ** _'So that's Yodojiri. The bastard that stabbed me.'_**

Yodojiri made eye contact with Izaya briefly. He then looked over at the two mermaids. He stared at them. Then glanced at his assistance. Finally, he sighed in irritancy and turned away.

"Let's go." Izaya heard the man say.

The woman said nothing as she turned around and followed. Izaya's eyes narrowed.

"Neikawa," Izaya growled. "Get your Saika's to stab that man!"

As if on command, a small group of Saika's came out of the alleyway. However, they turned towards Izaya instead of to Yodojiri.

"Neikawa…" Izaya said.

"Those aren't mine!"

The group, weapons brandished, rushed over to them.

"Shit!" Izaya pulled out a flick blade.

His fears were quickly ill-put as a van came to a screeching stop between the Saika's and Izaya. Izaya's eyes widened as he stared at Kadota Kyuhei in the passenger seat.

"Dotachin!"

"Now, don't try this at home, kids!" Izaya heard Yumasaki Walker's voice. In the next moment, a plume of fire could be spotted through the driver side window of the van. "Only experience fire benders can do this!"

"Hurry up!" Kadota called. "Get in!"

Izaya jolted, nodding. He turned to Neikawa. "Get in the car! I'll be right behind you!"

The girl nodded without argument. The two ran around the front of the van. Neikawa turned right towards the sliding passenger door. Walker was standing a few feet in front of it, holding back the Saika's with a can of hairspray and a lighter. The Saika's had fled to a safe distance. Izaya rushed over to the three men in the middle of the street.

"Come on!" Izaya yelled at them, kneeling down besides Shitsuo. "Our rides here!"

"Help Sakuraya!" Shitsuo hissed, cringing as he tried to get up while tears rolled down his cheeks.

"I've got him!" Roppi said, tears also on his face.

The mother mermaid put his arms under Sakuraya's knees and shoulders and lifted him bridal style. Sakuraya cringed, also crying. The informant registered that the tears had to be from the Resonance, although Izaya wouldn't be surprised if Sakuraya and Shitsuo were crying due to the pain. Even with superhuman strength, getting hit by a car would definitely hurt a normal person.

Izaya decided not to waste time on such a trivial thought as he grabbed Shitsuo's wrist and put himself under the blonde's arm. He wrapped his arm around Shitsuo's back and held the blonde's wrist over his neck. The two worked together to get Shitsuo to his feet.

The group of four rushed to the car. Shitsuo was limping heavily but Izaya kept him moving at a moderately quick pace. The four piled into the car. Walker walked backwards and hopped in. He put the hairspray down in favor of closing the car door. Togusa hit the gas once the door shut.

"Great timing, Dotachin!" Izaya looked at the man in the passenger seat, sitting on the floor between the two seats. "How did you know where we were?"

"Roppi was posting all over the Dollar's site. We saw the Saika people and made our way over."

"Ah, well, than—"

"Shitsu-Nii!" Sakuraya called.

Izaya looked at the two in the furthest back seat. Roppi was sitting in the seat as well, Sakuraya's back pressed against his side and Shitsuo knelt on the floor by Izaya—Neikawa sat on the middle row seat with Erika.

"I can't hear the baby's heartbeat anymore."

Shitsuo's eyes widened. So did Izaya's and everyone else's eyes at such a bone-chilling statement.

"Th-th-that car," Sakuraya was shaking as a barely held smile crossed his face. New tears stung his eyes and Izaya was certain it wasn't from the Resonance. "That car just rung my bells, right? That-that's all!"

Shitsuo rushed over and pressed his ear to Sakuraya's stomach.

"The baby's still there. I just can't hear it because my head's still spinning."

Shitsuo said nothing as his shoulder's started to shake with gentle sobs.

"Shitsu-Nii. The baby's fine, right?"

Shitsuo looked up at him. The pain on his face was obvious.

Sakuraya's smile disappeared as he started to cry for a whole new reason.

"No, you're just messing with me, Shitsu-Nii."

Shitsuo said nothing as he wrapped his arms around Sakuraya, hugging him close.

"You're lying! You're lying…" Sakuraya's voice cracked with sobs.

The raven clenched his teeth as the denial passed. He then pressed his face into his brother's shoulder and sobbed. Roppi's brow furrowed, a pain crossing his face that Izaya was able to recognize. Izaya knew immediately that Roppi could sympathize with the grieving mother. Without a doubt, as someone who is prone to miscarrying, he knows the pain of losing a child that was still in the womb. Roppi pressed himself against Sakuraya's back, wrapped his arms around Shitsuo's to provide comfort to the two siblings.

The car was dead silent other that the sounds of gentle sobs.

Izaya was the one to break the silence as he tore his gaze away from the grieving family.

"Take us to Shinra's." the informant said. "Sakuraya-san needs a doctor."

"…Right." Togusa said in a solemn voice as he made a right turn.

* * *

Shitsuo, Izaya, and Roppi sat on Shinra's couch. The three were alone in the living room, the area dead silent. Shitsuo was leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands balled together and pressed against his mouth. The blond was rocking back and forth in his seat. Roppi was literally licking his wounds, drawing his tongue over the cuts on his arms to coat them in some frothy sea foam. Izaya was typing away on his phone.

Currently, Sakuraya and Shinra were in the backroom. Upon their arrival, Shinra originally wanted to ask what happened to meeting up at 7, as it was 7:30 when the group of four arrived. But that cheery dialogue was quickly suspended when Izaya explained what happened to the pregnant mermaid. Without another moment wasted, Shinra led the way into the back room, where Roppi put his pregnant son down on a medical table. Shitsuo remained with Sakuraya until he was rocked to sleep by the sedatives, in which, Shinra kicked him out so he could work on Sakuraya without distraction.

Now the three waited. Quietly. Patiently. For when Shinra would come out.

The silence was interrupted by a knock at the door. Roppi jolted before pushing himself to his feet faster than Izaya thought necessary. The raven went to the door and opened it.

"Heyo, Ro-Pi-Kun!" Simon's voice could be heard down the hall.

"Thanks for delivering, Samia." Roppi's voice sounded tired.

"No prob! Babies were goodly good! Caused problems none!"

"That's good to hear."

The door closed. Simon and Roppi, both carrying a toddler, walking into the living room.

"Daddy!" Hibiya called.

Simon put the babe down before his squirming caused the Russian to drop him. As soon as Hibiya's feet touched the ground, he ran over to Izaya and climbed into his lap. Izaya put his phone down on the couch cushion to help situate Hibiya so the child wouldn't fall or hurt Izaya.

Hibiya made eye contact with Shitsuo, who casted the baby a sidelong glance.

"Hi!" Hibiya called. "I'm Hibiya!"

"..I'm Minigawa Shitsuo."

"You're owr bwoder, aren't you?"

"…Yeah, I am."

Hibiya smiled.

Roppi sat Tsuki down on the couch. The blond toddler immediately stood and went around to Shitsuo. Tsuki sat next to the worried adult. He wrapped his arms around Shitsuo's bicep, hugging the big arm close to his little body. Shitsuo looked down at him wide-eyed.

"I'm Tsukishima."

Shitsuo stared. "…I'm…Shitsuo…"

Tsuki rested his head on Shitsuo's bicep. "It'll be okay."

Shitsuo's eyes widened.

"You're upset. But it'll be okay. You're not arone so we'll make you happy."

Shitsuo's expression changed rapidly. He wanted to smile, then clenched his teeth to fight back emotions, then he brought his fists up to press against his forehead.

"Ha, haha! Is that what it's like to have kids? Heh, having intelligent little ones that don't care for the mood of the room? And I took that away from Sakuraya…"

"Shitsuo-san, this isn't your fault." Izaya stated.

"This is entirely my fault. If I hadn't gone out to talk to Shizuo…"

"Yodojiri would have found you one way or another. At least, tried to anyway. If I had known he had a Saika mother under his belt, I would have taken different precautions. If anyone is at fault, it's me for my poor foresight."

"…This…this is for the best anyway." Shitsuo's voice quivered. "That baby was doomed to a cursed existence anyway. This was the best outcome for all of us."

"How can you say that?" Roppi asked in a far calmer voice than Izaya would expect.

"It's just…the baby was either mine or Minigawa's, so either or way, it would…"

"You were practicing incest?"

Shitsuo fell quiet.

"I should have told you this earlier." Izaya said to Roppi. "Minigawa Todoro raised Sakuraya and Shitsuo like sons—until they became of age."

Roppi's eyes widened with understanding. "Oh, I get it now."

Izaya was happy Roppi was so smart. To piece together the picture so quickly made Izaya's life easier…Although, it's entirely possible he was able to understand so fast because of experience instead of intelligence.

"So, let me guess. It was a scenario of, Sakuraya had to choose between the baby being from the father that he trusted, or from the brother that just wanted the best from him."

Shitsuo hesitated. "…We know it was stupid. And wrong. We just…we were scared. Sakuraya was talking about killing himself if it was Minigawa's."

 ** _'He didn't tell me that before.'_** Izaya noted. **_'That would explain why he made such a desperate decision though.'_**

"I just—"

"You don't have to explain yourself." Roppi said. He came around the couch and kissed the top of Shitsuo's head lovingly. "I understand, without question."

Shitsuo looked up at him with obvious pain. He was holding back barely contained tears. He then clenched his teeth and put his face in his fists once again. His shoulder's shook with newfound sobs. Tsukishima hugged his arm tighter. Roppi stroked his hand through his hair.

Izaya looked up at Simon, smiling at the Russian. "Thank you for your services today, Simon-san."

The Russian didn't smile back, having quite a solemn expression. **"This Yodojiri man killed a baby?"**

 **"I don't think he did it on purpose."** Izaya said. **"He wanted the baby for himself, so I doubt he drove Sakuraya into traffic with the intention of them getting hit."**

 **"…I don't think Roppi and his family should remain in Tokyo, so long as this man is around."**

 **"I have it under control, Samia."**

 **"Do you? So Sakuraya losing the baby was part of your grand plan?"**

Roppi glanced at Izaya. The informant, however, didn't notice as his attention was on Simon. He cast a glower to the black man, although his smile was still in place.

 **"…I'll admit, things went out of my foresight today."** Izaya stated. **"But I know better now. I can take care of them."**

 **"What would be better is returning them to the ocean. This Yodojiri can't touch them if they're 20,000 leagues under the sea."**

Izaya chuckled. **"That won't be necessary. I've got everything under control."**

 **"I don't think you're deciding what's best for this family, but what's best for you."**

 **"I have things under control."**

 **"Think about them, not yourself."**

 **"Samia. I'm in control."**

The Russian stared at him with a glower. **"Do you love Roppi?"**

Izaya glowered right back. **"That is of no concern of yours."**

Simon's eyes narrowed into a glare. **"If you love him, you need to think of what's best for him."**

Izaya just sneered. **"After all these years of knowing me, what makes you think that I'm so selfless I would ever say, 'so long as you're happy, I'll be happy'?"**

Simon didn't respond. Just cast him a cold glare.

 **"Besides, this is what's best for Roppi. He shouldn't be driven from land in fear of an insignificant human. As a species above man, he should be able to parade around this city with his head held high. I'll get rid of Yodojiri so Roppi can do just that."**

Simon stared at him. Then he turned his head away with a soft sigh. **"You're full of it."**

Izaya glowered, his smile only widening with animosity. **"I have things under control."**

Simon didn't respond. Although, the disappointment was evident on his face. Izaya's smile changed from cynical to business as he pulled out his wallet.

"Thank you for the food, and the delivery, Simon-san!" Izaya stood, smiling broadly as he held out ¥50,000 ($500) to the Russian.

Simon smiled right back, just as fake and business-like. "Good welcomes! Help make family happy and strong! Eat plenty food! Fill bellies full! Helps with sadness!"

The Russian took the money.

"Ro-Pi-Kun, make sure eat good! Growing babies need fatty protein!"

Roppi smiled. "I'll make sure they eat." The mermaid then walked around, intertwining his arms with one of Simon's. "I'll see you out."

"Good manner's! Wasted on Izaya!"

"That's what everyone tells me." Roppi chuckled.

Izaya tried not to glower at the flirting mermaid as the two went down the hall.

 **"I'll be okay, Samia."** Roppi said in a low voice, although his voice spoke volumes about how tired he was. **"Ignoring Izaya and his prideful boasting, I think it'll be okay after this."**

 **"When it's Izaya, nothing is ever okay after he gets involved."**

Roppi didn't know how to respond. His expression lost its confidence as he stared at the floor with obvious doubt.

 **"I'm sure you already know this,"** Simon started, **"but your kids need to come first. Yodojiri may leave you alone now that there's no baby involved, but what happens if you become pregnant? This cycle will just start all over again."**

Roppi looked up at Simon wide-eyed. **"I won't get pregnant!"**

 **"Are you sure about that? Are you being safe? I know Izaya is reckless. I, of course, can't speak for his sex life, but I—"**

 **"You didn't see the video, did you?"**

Simon shook his head. **"Of course not. I don't need to see things like that."**

Roppi tilted his head down. If he was able to, he knew he would feel ashamed right now. But all he could feel was awkward embarrassment. Although, a part of him was very happy that Simon didn't see him like that. He wanted to keep this man's respect. Even if he had no shame when it came to sex, he still had his dignity and he knew that he would lose face if Simon saw him in such a…compromising position, whether it be consensual or otherwise.

 **"I'm just saying,"** Simon continued, **"you shouldn't take the risk with dangerous people when you have children involved. They need you, Roppi. They need their mother. Don't let your twisted tastes take away from their future."**

Such words cut Roppi's heart like a knife. It must have shown on his expression as Simon grabbed Roppi by his shoulders, rubbing his thumb over the flesh in reassurance.

 **"Just be careful, alright? Take care of yourself before Izaya. I know he has a way of twisting things around, to make you think you're doing something because you want to, and it just happens to work in Izaya's favor. You need to come first. Your children need to come first—before any love interest."**

 **"I…!"** Roppi glanced to the side. **"Know…that…"**

 **"I'm sure you do."** Simon smiled softly. **"But it never hurts to reiterate the point."**

Roppi looked at the ground, confliction prominent in his red orbs. He then chuckled. "You're Russian really does sound so different to your Japanese."

Simon just smiled. He then ruffled the mermaid's hair soothingly. "Roppi smart. No need lecture from old dog. You do what be good for everyone, I know you do!"

"…Thanks, Samia."

"Welcome!" Samia put on his sandals and opened the door. "Make sure eat until belly bulging! Have long night ahead of you!"

"I will. Have a good night."

"You too!"

With that, the Russian left the house, the door closing behind him. Now alone in the hallway, Roppi's smile disappeared to be replaced with an expression of stress. Roppi let himself lean forward until his head bonked against the door. Simon's words weighed heavy on his shoulders. A part of him knew Simon was right. But he couldn't deny he wanted to remain by Izaya's side.

Roppi let out a heavy sigh, unsure of what he should do.

"Roppi."

The mermaid glanced to the side. Izaya stood at the end of the hall, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. No doubt the informant heard their conversation. Roppi turned his head, pressing his face against the door, to look at him.

"Come eat something." Izaya said. "You should take it easy for now."

Roppi just stared at him for a long second. "…Yeah. Alright."

The mermaid pushed off the door and walked down the hall. Once he was close enough, Izaya put his arm around Roppi's shoulder and hugged him close. He tilted his head to touch skulls with the mermaid.

"I promise, I have everything under control now." Izaya said. "I underestimated Yodojiri. That won't happen again."

Roppi didn't respond.

"Simon was right about one thing, though."

Roppi looked up at the informant. "What?"

"With a baby out of the picture, Yodojiri has no reason to pursue you or your family now. Revenge is still on the table, but you don't have to worry about anymore kidnapping attempts. As of right now, everyone is safe, without question."

Roppi stared. For quite some time, he didn't say anything. Then he smiled. "Yeah, I guess that's true."

Izaya smiled with confidence.

Before the two were able to sit down, the door to the back room opened. The two looked over their shoulder. Shitsuo jolted to his feet—Tsukishima let go of his arm so he wouldn't be knocked over—and came around the couch quickly.

"Did it go alright?" Izaya asked, turning around to give the underground doctor his undivided attention.

"Is he okay?!" Shitsuo pushed the informant roughly to stand before Shinra. "Is he alright?!"

"He's fine." Shinra said. He glanced at Roppi. "Thanks for the input earlier. I completely forgot about you mermaids have multiple stomachs until you mentioned it."

"…I figured it might slip your mind." Roppi chuckled nervously. "Didn't want to take the risk of you cutting open his stomach thinking it was the uterus."

"Well, luckily he was still in the first trimester, so I just performed a suction curettage, not a C-section."

Roppi cocked a brow. "What's th—"

"Can I see him?" Shitsuo asked.

Shinra nodded. "He's still out of it become of the Novocaine. So, keep your voice down and don't upset him."

Shitsuo nodded eagerly. He then rushed past the doctor to the backroom as fast as his limp would let him.

"You know," Izaya started. "You didn't have to give him Novocaine for a suction curettage."

"I know. I did it to help him calm down. He was very distraught."

Izaya nodded. "Any complications?"

"None bodily. He took to the Novocaine just fine. I ran some ultrasounds, and I didn't see any bruising on the uterus. In a week or so, I want to do some tests to make sure there was no permanent damage to the womb."

"…Will he be okay?" Roppi asked.

"It's too early to tell for his body. He didn't have any bruising or broken bones, so I know he didn't hemorrhage, and he doesn't have internal bleeding. All his organs seem fine. Either the car wasn't going very fast or mermaids are just built tough but I'm confident he shouldn't have any dire medical conditions. The abortion may have left him infertile but only time will tell with that. As for mental…well, he went through a stressful experience. Any normal person, I would suggest therapy. Although, if he's anything like Roppi-kun…"

Roppi chuckled. "I think he'll need therapy. I'm a battle-hardened warrior with a few thousand years of experience under my belt. Things like losing a baby is something I can brush off easy enough. He's not like me, though. He's…soft."

Shinra and Izaya nodded.

"I'll talk to him about therapy once he's calm without the use of drugs." Izaya said. "I doubt he'll have much complaints about it."

Roppi chuckled. "Now it's all about finding a therapist that will let him talk freely. If he has to hide the fact he's a mermaid, the therapist will keep bumping into walls."

"I'll figure it out, don't worry."

Shinra nodded. "You guys can stay here for the night. I'll let Celty know."

"Thanks, Shinra." Roppi smiled, looking quite tired. "That would be really appreciated."

Shinra nodded again. The doctor then turned and went into his bedroom to make the call to Celty.

Izaya turned his head and kissed Roppi's temple.

"I'll call Shiki-san tonight. Let him know you're willing to see Psyche."

Roppi nodded. "…The sooner the better."

Roppi leaned in close, resting his head on Izaya's shoulder. Izaya nuzzled his head against Roppi's.

"It'll be alright, Roppi. The worst is over now."

"…Yeah. I know."

* * *

 **Being honestly, the reason I haven't touched this story since July is because I didn't want to write the car accident scene. I knew from the beginning Sakuraya was going to lose the baby. It had to happen but when it came time to write the scene, I got choked up. Not gonna lie, I bawled like a baby while writing it. Which is good! Because if it made me cry, it'll surely make others cry. So, fuck me, at least I did a good job!**

 **KCK**


	36. Chapter 36

Izaya didn't get much sleep that night. He spent the majority of the evening on his phone. He had a lot to try and cover up, as well as find Yodojiri. He borrowed Shinra's laptop to hack into traffic cams, shop camera's, and the sort. Roppi, Hibiya, Tsukishima, and Izaya slept in the same room. Hibiya and Tsuki shared a futon while Izaya and Roppi shared one. Sakuraya and Shitsuo were still in the back room. The mermaids had no problem sleeping, surprisingly. Roppi even fell asleep with his arm around Izaya's waist.

The informant wasn't able to find where Yodojiri disappeared to. He was able to find the car they had gotten away in, however, it was abandoned on the freeway in the black spot between two cameras. Izaya wasn't able to see which car they transferred into. After a long night of searching, he came up near emptyhanded. He ended up getting to sleep at five in the morning.

All of them slept in till noon. Izaya was the first to wake. He doesn't know how nor why. He noticed a long time ago that Roppi always slept in late. He usually didn't wake up till noon on a good day. Although Izaya was very surprised the kids didn't need to get up in the middle of the night for the bathroom.

Izaya decided not to wake any of them up. Instead, he got up, pulling Roppi's arm off his waist. He grabbed his phone and went out into the living room. Shinra was in the kitchen. They made eye contact before the doctor smiled.

"Good afternoon, Izaya." The doctor sneered. "Want some coffee."

"Hi." Izaya rubbed his eye. "Coffee would be nice."

The doctor chuckled before he grabbed the half empty pot of coffee. He poured Izaya a cup and handed it to him. Izaya liked his coffee black and Shinra knew that so the doctor didn't bother to give him any creamer. Izaya took a generous gulp.

He then clicked the screen of his phone. Izaya had missed a call. He smiled when he recognized it. He would call that number once he finished his coffee.

* * *

"Come on, come on." Izaya beckoned happily, walking up to his warehouse. "I'm telling you, you guys will love this."

"Is it the t—" Roppi started, but Izaya interrupted him with a:

"Sssh! Don't ruin the surprise!"

The group of six walked up to a warehouse, the very warehouse Roppi and Izaya's relationship had started in. Izaya looked particularly excited as he reached the door first. He unlocked and opened it, holding the door for the mermaids. Hibiya went in first, tugging Tsuki along behind him. Roppi followed close behind them. Sakuraya and Shitsuo, who were attached at the hip, took up the rear. Izaya went in last and closed the door behind them.

"WOW!" Hibiya yelled.

Sakuraya and Shitsuo were quiet but stared wide-eyed at the massive tank in front of them. Before them all was a tank nearly the entire perimeter of the warehouse. It was not as tall as the building, but tall enough to reach the windows of the eagle's nest. There was a metal catwalk leading up to a control panel next to the tank. Underneath that catwalk, welded to the steps was a metal chest with a number coded lock. Up on the ceiling was a metal crane along a track that had six off-shoots. On top of the tank were weighted pool covers. None of them could see inside the tank, as it was pitch black for some reason.

"...Wow..." Roppi voiced. "You got this done in three months?"

"Yeah. I had a day crew and a night crew to work on this," Izaya said, "so it would be done as soon as possible."

"This is for us?" Sakuraya looked at Izaya wide-eyed.

"Yes, indeed. Here, look!"

Izaya rushed over to the catwalk and climbed up it. He went to the control panel, in which he pulled out a key from his pocket, put it in the panel then clicked a button. The tank lit up with florescent lights, displaying a sandy floor and a huge, obviously man-made sea cave with seaweed in front of it to act as a door. There were also fishes swimming around in the tank—algae-eater sucker fish of different sizes and shades of black and tan.

"I figured you guys would probably prefer sand over pebbles." Izaya said, "Less it feel like a fish bowl. Besides, pebbles collect algae and I don't think we'd want to have a tank cleaning session as often as we would need. The sucker fish will hopefully keep the glass and the grotto clean for you guys."

Izaya leaned against the catwalk railing to look down at the family of mermaids.

"The glass is reflective. So long as the light is off, no one will be able to see inside the enclosure—so no one will know you're here if they stumble across this place. Although that does mean that you won't be able to see out of the tank unless the lights are off. There's a waterproof remote here," Izaya lifted the device, "So you guys can turn the light on and off whenever you want. Inside the grotto are some waterproof mattresses for you to sleep on, and in this trunk," he pointed down, "are bottles for you to empty your flotation bladders into so you can sleep."

Izaya went down the steps to the trunk. Roppi and the others walked over to look over his shoulder.

"The code right now is 1380, but you can change it to a number you'll remember."

The informant put in the code and the trunk popped open. He pushed it the rest of the way until it thunked against the metal steps, which mad it so it was only 3/4ths of the way open. Inside were towels, clothes, and two boxes—one a lock box and the other a simple wooden chest. He grabbed the chest, and in the box was a bundle of glass bottles with mouth grips attached to the top.

"So, what you do," Izaya lifted one of the bottles to show them, "is you bite down on this and breath in. The bottles have a suction lock, so in order to open them, you have to bite on this. That way, air won't get out and water won't get in."

Roppi took the bottle. "That's actually really cool."

"I know, right?" Izaya smiled. "It'll be way easier for you guys to refill your flotation bladders like this, rather than pushing yourself to the surface."

"Technology's come a long way." Roppi looked at Izaya. "I had a bottle like this, but it was magic imbued to keep the air in and water out."

"Wait, you already have one?"

"Had one. It's probably still in my grotto, back before I got caught by the Puerto Rican. SeiSei gave it to me years ago."

"Oh." Izaya nodded. "Well, I hope this will be good enough."

Roppi chuckled. "It will, without question."

Izaya smiled. "Oh, so, you also won't have to worry about anyone trying to kidnap you while you're in the tank. Those plates," He pointed up at the floating pool covers. "Weigh about 200 pounds each. No one's going to be able to lift them without the crane, and the crane can only be operated if they have this key."

He lifted the item.

"There's a copy in that lockbox for you to use."

He pointed to a small box in the trunk.

"There's also Morphine and Aspirin in there, so if you wish to transform back, you'll be able to. Up in the eagles nest are a few beds, a TV, and a land-line phone. There's also a phone book so you can order takeout whenever you want. Although, that means you'll have to take aspirin daily in order to eat, which means you'll have to purge if you want to go bac—"

"No, we won't." Roppi interrupted. "Aspirin can be nullified with saltwater."

Izaya looked at him in confusion.

"Did I never explain that? Not all pills need a purging in order to transform back. Hydrocodone, you need to purge, but Aspirin you can get your fin back by drinking saltwater. I don't know about other pills, but I can only assume not all of them require a purge."

Izaya just stared for a moment. "Oh. No, you never explained that."

"Sorry."

The informant chuckled. "Well, then that works out. You can order food and just turn back after you're done eating. I was going to say I can hire a private chef to cook for you so you won't have to transform back."

"Nah, that's more effort than it's worth. Trying to find a chef that won't freak out over mermaids is going to be annoyingly hard."

Izaya nodded. "Alright. If that's your choice." He then turned to Sakuraya and Shitsuo. "As before, you'll have free range to whatever you want. You still have the credit card I gave you, right?"

Shitsuo nodded. "Yes, we do."

Izaya nodded again. "That's yours to keep, no matter what. Roppi, I'll give you one to use, so you don't have to use mine anymore."

Roppi shook his head. "I won't need it. I'll be working with Simon from now on, so I'll be making my own money."

Izaya didn't let his smile fall despite the obvious shift of tension in the room. "I thought you were only going to take the job to spite me?"

"No, I just told you that to piss you off. But I'm really going to take the job. I'm really not a fan of having a sugar daddy taking care of me."

"I'm not a sugar daddy. Sugar daddies get laid."

"We've fucked plenty of times so far."

"Roppi, there are children present."

The mermaid rolled his eyes.

"I'm not funding you with those intent and you know it. You don't need to worry about money."

"Yeah, I know. But it still bugs me to have to ask someone else for money. I can take care of myself."

Izaya glowered slightly. "Lets talk about this later, in private."

Roppi was silent. He then nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"Mommy, I want to go swimming!" Hibiya tugged Roppi's shirt. "I wanna go!"

Roppi looked down at him. "Alright, let's go."

Hibiya bounced with happiness. He then turned and rushed to the stairs, pulling Tsuki along with him. Roppi separated the two by picking Tsuki up.

Izaya turned to Shitsuo and Sakuraya. "Do you want to go in as well?"

The two looked to each other. Sakuraya then nodded. He looked back to Izaya. "Yeah, sure."

Izaya nodded. "There's some bathing suits in the trunk."

"We won't need it." Shitsuo said. "We just need saltwater, so we'll be okay."

Izaya nodded. He then went up the metal stairs. At the top, Roppi stepped out of the way to let Izaya mess with the control panel. The informant put the key back in, turned on the panel and grabbed the joystick. He moved it, in which the crane moved along the track. He brought it above the floating cover that was right in front of them, then pressed a green button next to the join stick. The crane started to lower. The crane came over the plate, in which Izaya turned a dial. The crane began to close around the straps attached to the floating square. He then pressed the red button that had been next to the green one. The crane lifted, taking the plate with it.

The informant stopped the crane in order to talk.

"So," Izaya said, "if you want, the track does go all the way down so you can put the buoy covers on the floor."

The informant pointed and all turned to look. The track did extend past the pool by a significant distance.

"Do you want that?" Izaya looked at Roppi. "Or you just want an opening to jump into."

"I wan' jump in now!" Hibiya yelled. "I don' wan' wait!"

Roppi rolled his eyes. "Hibiya, stop being demanding."

The child pouted, but didn't say anything more.

Izaya chuckled. "Alright."

Izaya pressed the button again, lifting the crane and the plate higher. Once at a proper height, he moved the joystick. The crane traveled down the line and into the closest off-shoot to hover over the floating plate next to it. He lowered the crane down to put the plate on top of another one. He then turned the dial to have the crane released. He pressed the red button again, bringing the crane up to the ceiling so it was out of the way.

The informant turned the machine off with a turn of the key and stepped out of the way.

"YAY!" Hibiya yelled and immediately started taking off his clothes.

Roppi chuckled before kneeling down and helping the child strip. The brunette was soon completely bare. Roppi turned to Tsuki next and helped the blond strip. Soon enough, Tsuki was also naked. The mother mermaid folded their clothes and put them underneath the control panel.

Roppi then stripped as well. However, he kept his underwear on for a reason Izaya didn't know why. Roppi had never been a stranger to nudity, nor did he care about swimming naked, so—to Izaya—it was quite strange to see him develop modesty. Izaya didn't mention it, however, as the mother grabbed Hibiya.

There was a gap between the control panel and either railings of the platform. Roppi squeezed into that space and had Hibiya step on the railing.

"You ready?" Roppi looked at his little boy.

"Are you gon' to t'row me?"

"Yup."

Hibiya beamed. "Yay!"

Roppi chuckled. "Alright. One. Two. Three!"

The mother tossed the babe. Hibiya laughed heartily as he flew through the air for a few seconds before landing in the water with a mighty splash. Izaya peered over the railing to see the toddler's legs turn into an orange fin. He broke the surface of the water with a happy smile on his face.

"Waah, it great!" The child yelled.

"Move out of the way, Hibiya." Roppi said. "We're going to jump in too!"

"Okay!"

"Move under one of the plates, alright?"

"Okay!"

The child did as told and dove under. He swam out of the opening to disappear under the black cover.

Roppi turned and picked up Tsuki.

"I don' wan' be tossed." Tsukishima said, shaking his head. "I don' wan'!"

"Okay, okay." Roppi kissed Tsuki's head.

With that stated, Roppi climbed over the railing. With one arm, he climbed down the railing until his feet touched the rim of the fish tank. Izaya leaned over the railing to watch him go. He kept his hand on the bottom of the metal platform to keep his balance.

"Ready?" Roppi kissed Tsuki's head.

The little blond nodded. Without further ado, Roppi hopped off and into the water. Within Roppi's very arms, Tsukishima transformed. His blood red tail sprouted to tap against his mother's belly.

Izaya looked over his shoulder at Sakuraya and Shitsuo. The two held half-smiles as they looked up at him. The informant stepped to the side to give them room. The two looked uncomfortable. Izaya was confused and it took him far too long to realize their reaction was because they didn't want to strip in front of him. The informant was so out of touch with normal behavior due to Roppi that he forgot the adult siblings were raised to be human. Izaya chuckled at the thought.

"I need to make a call." Izaya said, looking down at Roppi. "I'll be stepping out for a moment."

"Okay!" Roppi called.

Izaya smiled before turning to Sakuraya and Shitsuo. "Excuse me."

The two stepped out of the way. Izaya walked past them and descended the steps. He then went to the front door, in which he walked out and closed the door behind him. He pulled out his phone to check the time. 3:41.

 _ **'They'll be here soon.'**_

Izaya saw he had a message. He put in his passcode, swiped down so he could see the dropbar of who texted him and what they said. It was who he was hoping to see, stating they were en-route. That message had been sent at 3:20. Izaya nodded as a smile crossed his face. He then went online to check out the Dollars chatroom to pass the time.

Within another 10 minutes, a black car rolled up to the warehouse. It came to a stop and turned off. Immediately, the back door opened and an 8-year-old brunette in pink-and-white clothes jumped out.

"Hello, Psy-cha—"

"Is she here?!" The child interrupted. "My mother?!"

"Psyche, wait." Shiki hissed.

The executive climbed out of the car after his son. He slammed the door shut and rushed over to his child. The two now stood before Izaya.

"Yes, she is." Izaya said. "Shes' inside."

Psyche smiled, but his eyes reflected a nervousness that didn't match.

"She doesn't know you're here." Izaya said. "And she had a very stressful day yesterday. So, I ask you to be a little bit delicate, okay?"

Psyche didn't respond. Instead he nodded.

"Alright, let's go."

Izaya opened the door and the three stepped inside.

Sakuraya and Shitsuo were now in the tank, transformed and swimming around. Izaya was not surprised to see that Sakuraya had a pink fin and Shitsuo had a black fin. Although he had the videos from Minigawa's place, the camera's had been in grayscale, so Izaya didn't know what theirs fins actually looked like. However, those colors matched their personalities the best. It was truly no surprise.

The two adults were swimming around the grotto, observing their new home. Tsukishima, Hibiya, and Roppi remained close to the open water, although the three were under the surface. Roppi was playing in the sand with Tsukishima while Hibiya was doing summersaults above them.

Immediately, all of the mermaids perked and looked over at them. All eyes bore down on Psyche. The eight-year-old's eyes stretched wide as he reflexively pushed against his father.

 _ **'That was creepy.'**_ Izaya acknowledged. _**'At least now Shiki-san has proof that I'm not being played.'**_

Roppi immediately swam to the surface. He broke the waters edge with a gasp. With little pause, he swam over to the rim of the tank. He pulled himself up, climbed over, and dropped down. His feet smacked harder against the concrete thanks to the water.

Psyche didn't hesitate. As soon as Roppi touched ground, he rushed over to his estranged mother.

"Psyche!" Shiki hissed.

The raven ignored him. With tears streaking his cheeks, he wrapped his arms around Roppi's waists in a tight embrace. Roppi put his hands on the Psyche's back, tears spilling from his red eyes, although it was hard to tell because of the water.

"You shouldn't..." Roppi started, "You're going to get your clothes wet."

Roppi grabbed Psyche's shoulders and pushed the boy away. He then knelt down so he could be eye level with him. A soft sob escaped Roppi's lips as he smiled at Psyche. His hands reached up to hold the boys face, rubbing his thumbs over his cheeks to get rid of the tears. His wet hands only spread them further but neither seemed to care.

Izaya walked over to the chest and pulled out a towel. He handed it to Roppi, who took it graciously. He then wiped his hands and face with it. Once done, he wiped Psyche's face too. He sat the towel on his lap and looked at his son.

"Hi..." Roppi smiled.

"Hi." Psyche smiled right back.

"I'm Hachimenroppi."

"I'm um, I'm Haruya Psyche. Al-although, I mean, that might not be the name you gave me, heh."

Roppi shook his head. "That bastard took you from me before I could even name you."

Psyche's eyes widened to the statement.

Roppi smiled all the same. "It's nice to see you again, Psyche."

Psyche nodded as his eyes misted over with fresh tears. He then wrapped his arms around Roppi's neck. The mother chuckled as he patted Psyche on the back.

"We have a lot we need to talk about." Roppi looked up at Shiki. "You and your father."

"Y-yeah." Psyche nodded. "Yeah..."

Izaya watched the interaction from the catwalk, arms crossed and silent. He was more than content just watching quietly.

 _ **'Now that only leaves two more to find.'**_

* * *

 **Alright, halfway point (halfway in plot, not in chapters.)**


End file.
